Once cutting-edge tech for telecom, AT&T will stop landline support for most users
AT&T made a major announcement today and it is quite stunning, really. By 2029, the company founded as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company will have eliminated its landline service in nearly all U.S. states. The reason has to do with the ancient copper wire infrastructure that carries these calls. AT&T calls it antiquated and costly to operate. The company says that it can provide better telecommunications service to customers using wireless and fiber broadband.
Not everyone is in favor of removing the old landline equipment. Some consumer advocates believe that senior citizens and others who don't know how to use cellular phones and smartphones should continue to have access to landlines. Others who are better off with landlines include those who cannot afford cell service and Americans living in rural areas without access to cell service.
AT&T started offering landline service in 1885. By the 1930's, the company had quite a monopoly as it owned 80% of the telephones then in use in the U.S. Currently, the firm offers landline service in 21 states with some states in the northeast and northwest no longer using AT&T's landline service. The decision by AT&T to end landline support would impact nearly all states with at least one major exception: California.
AT&T tried and failed earlier this year to have its "Carrier of Last Resort Obligation" removed in California. As a result, the carrier is required to keep its copper-based network in the state.
"We’re working with our customers through this transition. No customers will lose voice or 911 service. We've been working at the state and federal levels to update the regulatory frameworks. While the work has been underway with the states, we've also been working with the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)."-AT&T spokesperson
Cell service started to replace landlines in homes during the late 1990s. While some businesses still rely on landlines, only 5% of AT&T's residential subscribers still use a landline today. The carrier started offering cell service in the 1980's. I recall having an AT&T cell phone back then and had to dial a long code before making a call over the cellular network.
The popularity of the smartphone quickly made it the most indispensable, cost-effective, and versatile communications tool we have to communicate with others. As a result, landline subscriptions continued to get canceled and the writing was on the wall.
With today's announcement, the countdown timer is set at about five years for AT&T's landline service which was once the most cutting-edge technology people had to communicate with others bridging great distances. Who knows? By 2163 someone could be writing a story for PhoneArena about the end of cellular.
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