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Landlines Are Dying Out


An anonymous reader shares a report: The number of landline users has plummeted with the rise of cellphones, and the 19th-century technology's days appear to be numbered. Providers like AT&T are looking to exit the business by transitioning customers to cellphones or home telephone service over ...

But for many of the millions of people still clinging to their copper-based landline telephones, newer alternatives are either unavailable, too expensive, or are unreliable when it matters most: in an emergency. The copper lines used for traditional landlines carry electricity over the wires, so as long as a phone is corded or charged it will work during a power outage. AT&T recently asked the California Public Utilities Commission to end its obligation to provide landline service in parts of the state.

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This week's cellphone outage makes it clear: In the United States, landlines are languishing