Are Landlines Dead? The FCC Thinks So

With the gaining popularity of VoIP and broadband connections becoming more and more popular the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is asking the question, “do we need traditional landlines?” Under their Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (the proposal will be going to Congress on Feb. 17, 2010) they believe traditional phone lines are a thing of the past. If Congress approves this plan, the FCC will be in charge of “develop[ing] a plan to ensure that all people of the United States have access to broadband capability.”

When AT&T heard about this program they took action and sent their own statement to the FCC telling them they believe that traditional land lines are already dead stating, “Any such forward-looking policy must enable a shift in investment from the legacy PSTN [Public Switched Telephone Network] to newly deployed broadband infrastructure. While broadband usage -- and the importance of broadband to Americans' lives -- is growing every day, the business model for legacy phone services is in a death spiral.”

If you look at it from a residential standpoint, AT&T is right. How many people do you know (maybe yourself included) that uses a cell phone instead of a landline as their home phone? And with the cost effectiveness of VoIP for businesses and its gaining popularity, it looks like business owners will be making the shift to VoIP services as well.

With Skype, Vonage, Google and other VoIP services making VoIP packages available it looks like this plan was inevitable. It is hard to determine what this plan will do for American’s and VoIP companies as well. Will this plan drive up the cost of VoIP once it is all said and done? Or will it make the market more competitive and stronger?

I guess we all will have to wait until February to see how Congress agrees with the FCC about America’s broadband usage. When the telephone was first invented it change the way American’s communicated forever, will VoIP services take telephony to the next level?