On-Air Now
On-Air Now

Love your trusty landline? Better read this.

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Bill Seeks To Pull Plug on Landline Phone Service
By Sandy Wells
KABC News
What’s left of old-fashioned telephone landline service could soon disappear altogether in California.  In government parlance it’s called POTS, or Plain Old Telephone Service; a corded phone connected to the outside world over a copper wire. It has one important advantage over the versatility and convenience of mobile devices and that is during a major power outage this service will remain viable long after cell phone and laptop batteries die.
State Assemblyman Evan Low, a Democrat from Silicon Valley, has authored AB 2395, which maps out a path to accelerating the end of POTS and converting all wired phone service to newer, alternative services such as VoIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol. Once the bill makes to out of committee – and it looks like it’s on its way – and is approved by the Legislature and signed by Governor, the transition could be complete by 2020.
Assemblyman Low says 85 percent of California phone customers have voluntarily abandoned their land line connections. He says that a large proportion of people hanging on to them are wealthy individuals who don’t feel burdened by, or perhaps don’t even notice, the expense of having a landline along with their cell phones.
Not everyone thinks this is such a great idea. Those against it include individuals concerned about loss of phone access during a public emergency and the viability of the 911 system.  The California Brain Tumor Association has taken the position that electromagnetic radiation associated with cell phones and WiFi pose unacceptable health risks, especially to children.