The End of an Era: AT&T to phase out landline phone network by 2029

[pstokely]

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/the-end-of-an-era-at-t-to-phase-out-landline-phone-network-by-2029

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly 36% of Michiganders still use landline phones.

They estimate that adds up to about 2,780,097 adults still relying on them. However, this number has been steadily declining as more people switch to mobile devices.

AT&T is offering a new service, AT&T Phone – Advanced, which allows customers to keep their existing landline phone numbers and equipment while transitioning to a wireless or broadband connection.

The company says they are prioritizing reliability, cost-effectiveness and security features, including robocall blocking.

[anciano]

1. "The future ain't what it used to be." Yogi Berra

[SocialDemocrat61]

2. Robert Zemeckis promised us flying cars

I’m still waiting.

[retread]

13. Well, there is this!

[SocialDemocrat61]

14. But does it travel in time?

I suspect not since too many would try to go back to kill Elon. 🤣

[Maeve]

3. We gave up our landline this past year

You now call a person or a business, not a house
Lot fewer spam calls

[pstokely]

4. even if they have a cell phone phone, many are just keeping them because they've had the same number 50+ years

and think someone they haven't heard from in 50+ years will call

[Quiet Em]

12. lol. That's one of the reasons we kept ours and still do.

We thought it would be best for older relatives but they are all on cellphones now too, lol.

I don't know. I guess we like the reliability, that no matter what, that phone works. Although the only time it actually rings it informs us that it's "spam alert". Still, my adult children still call it occasionally when we don't answer their texts right away.

[Hekate]

5. Here's the reason we kept ours so long: they nearly always worked. On more than one occasion...

…our phone was the only one in the neighborhood still working when the cell towers went up in flames in a regional California fire. During one disaster my sis in Massachusetts phoned me in California — and my landline rang altho the power was otherwise out — and she literally read me the news from CNN off her own TV, when I said I had no idea what was going on outside my immediate neighborhood.

Nowadays, through the magic of electronics, when a major power outage occurs (usually as a fire prevention measure in high winds) we immediately lose computer and iPad reception, and very quickly after that, can barely get info as posted to my iPhone.

I really don’t think of this as a magical one size fits all improvement.

[Xolodno]

6. Ages ago, I ported our landline number to Ooma.

Advertisement companies get that number and I only check the messages about once a month. Every once in a great while I get a pertinent phone call, and then I'm wondering why didn't they call XYZ to get my cell.

[GoCubsGo]

7. They did that in my area years ago.

I have had a VOIP "landline" for nearly 10 years, which is fine--until the power goes out. Then, it's useless without a battery to keep the router powered up. I always had phone service with my old copper wire line, but they forced me off of it. Wish I had it back when Helene came through, and knocked out the power for over a week...

[area51]

8. Damn.

I'd like to keep my landline. When a hurricane comes in, that phone still works.

[question everything]

9. When someone calls the landline, anyone in the house can answer, and call the intended person

Last edited Thu Dec 12, 2024, 10:38 AM - Edit history (1)

Or a message can be left for anyone to access it.

A call to a cell phone will be received only by the subscriber who may or may not be available.

Also, we have extensions in many rooms. Cell phones are not. Certainly not in the bedroom.

[Kaleva]

10. My local landline phone company is moving to fiberoptic lines

The copper lines are being replaced with fiberoptic lines.

"AT&T recently announced plans to phase out its legacy copper network, which supports landline phones, by 2029."
https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/the-end-of-an-era-at-t-to-phase-out-landline-phone-network-by-2029

[LeftInTX]

11. I used my landline to locate my cell phone.

Unfortunately, when we had our house remodeled, the dufus didn't know what the jack was for and covered it with spackling compound. It was no longer a real landline, but a cable VOIP line.

We get important calls over the landline because of laws prohibiting certain calls over cell phones.

[boston bean]

15. LOL. I have done so many times.

I kept mine due to 911. What happens in emergency if network fails.

That landline always worked.

[LeftInTX]

18. Yeah, that's another reason.

But it wasn't a real landline.
It required electricity and a modem.
Like the way AT&T is moving to now.
We switched over 20 years ago, because rates were cheaper and long distance was free.
But at least it didn't run on batteries.

Unlike a phone and internet, the cell phone will work if the electricity is out.
(Unless the electricity is out for a long time, then the towers stop working and of course, you can't charge your phone)

[DeepWinter]

16. I had a land line up until about 5 years ago

$10/month, was my dedicated business line for my home office.

Another memory of what once was.

[hunter]

17. So, AT&T is essentially abandoning our neighborhood to Comcast...

... so far as wire/cable/fiber infrastructure goes.

The monopolies are mapping out their turfs. I doubt we'll ever get fiber here, that would require too much digging and they wouldn't get enough customers to justify it. We'll get 5G instead.

I receive postcards in the mail from the major wireless carriers promoting 5G, but so far responding to them only gets a "not in your area yet" and supposedly puts me on a waiting list.

One of my siblings lives in a rural area that had minimal phone service twenty years ago, they were just one step up from the old hand crank telephones, 1950's technology, and no wireless. Then a bunch of very wealthy people began to move into the area, with their hobby farms and ranches, and now they've got high speed fiber internet that rivals anything you'd find in wealthy urban neighborhoods.

A large fraction of my neighbors rely entirely upon their cell phones and broadcast television for their communication needs. If they have school age children or are low income senior citizens they may qualify for low cost internet plans.

[FakeNoose]

19. I've had a digital landline phone for over 20 years, and I still use it a lot

They aren't doing away with the digital system are they? It was quite a lengthy process getting people switched over to digital. I understand that many prefer their cellphones, but I'd rather have BOTH.

I can understand them doing away with the non-digital landlines. That's really old technology.

[mucholderthandirt]

20. Wireless or broadband won't work out here, unless they get busy installing something.

They phased out DSL already, and I've tried to get the alternatives, which I am assured do not exist. There have been many streets here with new houses put up, and I have no idea how they get phone service. We don't have towers close enough in the middle of nowhere, I get one band of cell service. If I'm standing in the magical location it picks up at!

We depend on a landline to have any phone service in emergencies. Our power went out about 7:30 this morning. It was out for over five hours. Without a landline phone I can plug in, I get nothing. The cordless phone won't work without electricity for the base. If the Internet is out, no WiFi, either.

But, the march of technology rolls on. People who are poor, or don't need all the bells and whistles are just shit out of luck, I guess. We should die quicker, like the rich people want. Less hassle for them, you betcha!

[Johnny2X2X]

21. I was talking to my teenaged nieces the other day

They had no idea what long distance charges are. They had no idea that when a friend or family member moves away, you had to pay extra to talk to them on the phone. Or that those charges could be extremely high if you talked for a long time.

Now you pay for data on your cellphone, but you can call anywhere in the US for free and it's hard to go over minutes. And you can make internet calls overseas for free too.