Re: Should legacy technologies be allowed to remain forever? [Telecom]

I find that very hard to believe because basic telephone service is regulated, and as such, must be provided. If a subscriber chooses to terminate FIOS and orders plain service to be restored, AFAIK the company must and will provide it. I'd be extremely surprised if that wasn't the case (and I'd think something more than aneectodal evidence would be appropriate to substantiate the claim.)

Now, _how_ the phoneco restores the plain service is irrelevent. If they leave the expensive fibre and terminal box to provide basic service (advanced features cut out) that's there problem.

I strongly doubt it, for the reasons stated above.

They will indeed, and they will charge a substantial fee to install a new line to the building.

It's not irrelevant if it leads to a substantial charge for the consumer.

--scott

What happens if someone new moves in? I strongly doubt an existing- building occupant would be required to pay anything to run wire to it. That's [Verizon's] problem.

Maybe other locations are different. But that's definitely NOT true in Chicago. It's the telco's responsibility to maintain the connection from the pole to the NID. If there's a problem in that line, it's fixed at the company's expense, not the customer's.

This is spelled out explicitly in a page of the phonebook, showing you how to do a line test and determine which end of the NID the problem is on. I had a problem a couple years ago with an occasional short in my drop (which rang the phone or busied out the line, depending literally on which way the wind was blowing), and they just came out and replaced it. No charge. *

Yes... but what if there is no NID? They are going to charge to install a new one.

--scott

If there's no NID, there's still a demarcation point between inside and outside wiring. It might be a knock-out panel in your wall where the screw connectors were.

I will also note, my rather old house had a NID box installed about 15 years ago when I got a second phone line. How much did it cost? Nothing. The technician ran wires through the wall from the old box to a shiny new NID.

I think this is a massively bogus issue. It is not the customer's right to demand that the telco install and/or maintain an outside line that serves no purpose. *