mc wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@telecom-digest.org:
The reason for having the telephone separate from the computer
> network (and even the electric power connection) is so that it will
> still work when the others don't.
> Imagine being completely incommunicado during a computer network > failure.
This may have been valid 20 years ago, but even POTS is no longer on a reserved pair all the way back to the CO.
Even though there is supposed to be standby power all the way, when I have a power outage at home, the POTS line from Verizon fails within about 10 seconds (probably at the SLIC across the street), while the other line, from the cable TV service (not VOIP), keeps working.
Logic tells me it should be vice-versa.
Paul