Withering Copper Telephone Lines

Last week before Thanksgiving our internet went out, but now a days its no big deal. I simply go down to where the wire comes up out of the ground, untie and clean the splice, tie it again, and tape. Everyone has to do this on occasion, right?Recently, the FCC chief released his plans for changing Net Neutrality, and being the selfish person I am sometimes, I began reading articles on how this would affect me. I mean, could it get any better because I’m not sure the quality in my rural area could get any worse. I still have not decided if the proposal will do what they hope it will, but I did find one striking part that feels like it is playing out now.

One of the rules in place now mandates that if a carrier decided to change the way they bring service to customers they would have to prove multiple ways that it is at least equal to what it is replacing. Under the new proposal, the mandates would not be in place. This has actually happened after Hurricane Sandy hit Fire Island and service providers initially decided to not go back with landlines until the locals dissented.

Locally, I’ve found out that our provider now has “digital home phones” available, as well as wireless internet.  I assume these get their service off of the closest cell tower. Considering how spotty our cell service is, especially at the house, I’m not sure this is anything near an improvement. Besides, what’s the big deal when 39% of rural America, or about 23 million people, still lack high-speed broadband.

If the landlines continue to deteriorate, and they will with boxes like mine that continue to go unrepaired (and others close by with covers open or lost), then I can only assume we are slowly being weaned off of copper lines. I think we’re currently watching our telephone lines die in the ground. Maybe that is why they are buried already.