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FCC Wants To Trial Shift From Analog Phone Networks To Digital

Posted by Soulskill on from the but-will-they-support-my-rotary-phone?! dept.

An anonymous reader sends word that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has given the go-ahead for telecommunications companies to start experimenting with an IP-based telephone protocol. From the article: "The experiments approved by the FCC would not test the new technology - it is already being used - and would not determine law and policy regulating it, FCC staff said. The trials would seek to establish, among other things, how consumers welcome the change and how new technology performs in emergency situations, including in remote locations. 'What we're doing here is a big deal. This is an important moment,' FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said. 'We today invite service providers to propose voluntary experiments for all-IP networks.' The move in part grants the application by AT&T to conduct IP transition tests as companies that offer landline phone services seek to ultimately replace their old copper wires with newer technology like fiber or wireless."

3 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. It's Like The Last Piece Of Technology That Works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My POTS line works great, works in power outages, and sounds way better than any other phone service I've had the misfortune of being exposed to. Of course the FCC wants to screw it up.

  2. Coming to a "landline" near you... by LookIntoTheFuture · · Score: 5, Insightful

    More delays that make conversations frustrating! Woohoo!

    --
    Brave Sir Robin ran away. ("No!") Bravely ran away away. ("I didn't!")
  3. There is (probably) no analog phone network anymor by Casandro · · Score: 5, Informative

    Analogue telephone networks were phased out starting in the 1980s when digital transmission lines became affordable.

    The only part where you still can get an "analogue line" is the last mile. However even there the first thing that gets done is a conversion to digital.

    What the FCC is talking about is turning traditional digital TDM networks to VoIP networks. This has nothing to do with analogue or digital. With the proper adapters you can connect your dial phone to both, and your phone company can still charge you extra for touch dialling.