Eweek
is reporting that in order to extend broadband access to all Americans AT&T has told the FCC that it needs to get out of the land-line business. AT&T wants to get out of the land-line business so it can focus funds on broadband and IP-based communications. In the 32 page report, in response to a FCC Request for Comment on Transition form Circuit-Switched to All IP Network.
AT&T called Congress’ 100 percent broadband goal “auspicious,” writing, “Broadband is dramatically changing the way Americans live, work, obtain health care and interact with the government. Congress and the Commission have rightly made universal broadband access a core national priority.” AT&T said this goal would be within reach if the resources of the FCC and its stakeholders were put toward developing and executing a strategy that included an “orderly transition away from, and retirement of, the PSTN.”
AT&T wants to shut down its analog PSTN
AT&T has asked the FCC to create a timetable that would allow the company to shut down its analog public switched telephone network (PSTN) so more investment would flow to its IP-based initiatives. “That transition is underway already,” AT&T wrote to the FCC in the Dec. 21, 2009 communication. “With each passing day, more and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based services, leaving the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and plain-old telephone service (POTS) as relics of a bygone era.” AT&T also said that less than 20 percent of Americans rely exclusively on POTS for voice service, while 25 percent of households have abandoned POTS. It noted that some 700,000 lines are being turned off each month.
The telecommunications giant argues that having to maintain and invest in two networks broadband and the PSTN means Congress’ goal “will not be met in a timely or efficient manner.” The company said that while 90 percent of Americans have access to broadband services, reaching that last 10 percent would require an investment of about $350 billion. “Due to technological advances, changes in consumer preference, and market forces, the question is when, not if, POTS service and the PSTN over which it is provided will become obsolete,” AT&T wrote to the FCC.
AT&T outlined steps for shutting down the PSTN and wants the FCC to swiftly follow them.
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Some of the issues that AT&T’s plan raises are life-safety issues. A POTS line maintains a dial tone and the ability to make and receive calls during catastrophes and emergencies. When large catastrophes strike, there can be no power for days, or even weeks in some areas. No power means no broadband Internet, which means VoIP phone services don’t work. No power to cell towers means no bars on your cell signal and no wireless service.
The ability to place 911 calls will also be an issue under an all IP system. With a POTS land-line, it is easy to match a phone number with a physical address, but with broadband VoIP, the 911 operators can’t tell where the call originates from.
Most importantly, as DSLReports points out, it is important to realize that AT&T’s objective is to move all broadband regulation to the more-easily lobbied federal level, revamping the Universal Service Fund so it works more in AT&T’s favor, and whatever other regulatory perks they can squeeze out of the FCC.
Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.