AT&T Discontinuing Land Line Service

mt999999

I went to sign onto DSL Reports to post that AT&T wire centers in the mid-west (pending regulatory approval) are going to cease offering local dial tone service or orders to move or change existing service, as of March 17th. Basically, they are grandfathering the traditional dial tone service, just as they officially have with ADSL service. I still have a traditional land-line and ADSL in eastern Ohio, that I suppose I can keep unless I move. I guess they'll continue to allow the service and lines to rot in place until it no longer functions.

Anyway, back to DSL Reports, I managed to find this new site... Is DSL Reports done for good??

mt999999

Here is the letter I received in the mail, yesterday.

xpxp2002

Thanks for sharing this. I also know people in that territory who will probably be getting this letter soon if they haven't already.

I assume your address is deemed serviceable for AIA or AT&T Fiber? Is that correct? I'm curious if this notice is going out to all existing POTS subscribers, or only those who could theoretically switch to AT&T "Advanced Phone" using VoLTE or AT&T Fiber with VoIP service.

Most of the people I know who still have POTS service in that territory are not (yet) AT&T Fiber serviceable, but they are not AIA-eligible either because, presumably, they will eventually be getting fiber.

mt999999

xpxp2002

I live in a small community, now under 10,000 people: East Liverpool, Ohio. AT&T offers "digital" phone and ADSL2+ internet here, and they have for some time. It was formerly marketed as "U-Verse", but I don't know what they are now calling it. We don't have fiber available. I can get ADSL2+ from them up to 18 Mb/s from AT&T (or Comcast Cable), but I've been holding onto my ancient 3 Mb/s ADSL for years now, same as my basic dial tone (it's getting pricey!). I'm almost just morbidly curious how longer I'll be able to keep it.

xpxp2002

I see a bunch of wire centers listed on the second page of your picture. Would you mind uploading the full list of those?

mt999999

xpxp2002 I'm at work, but I'll try to post legible photos of the other pages this evening if I don't forget. The back of the first page is also covered with wire centers.

Slab_Bulkhead

I would be interested in seeing if the Dayton-area wire centers are included as well. I take care of a small nonprofit radio station that still has two traditional land lines for the studio, but they are through Altafiber (ex Cincinnati Bell) and not AT&T. In the Dayton area, Altafiber is a CLEC with equipment in most of the AT&T CO's and residental and business dial tone can be provided by them over AT&T's copper. To the best of my knowledge, we haven't been told of Altafiber discontinuing their service.

Splitpair

Slab_Bulkhead

Slab_Bulkhead To the best of my knowledge, we haven't been told of Altafiber discontinuing their service.

They will be once AT&T pulls the plug on POTS.

mt999999

Sorry for the delay, hopefully these photos help.

dslwanter

mt999999 I figured this was coming. Why have all of those COs? The Lowellville wire center is going. Thats the one that services my parents in Coitsville. They are only offered internet air.

LightSpan

I worked for Att KY (bell-south) ,retired now. A lot of those central offices have had the switches turned down for over a year.There are a lot of big central offices not on that list . For example PIlot View KY switch is dead , only reason for power is the Fuji 9500 WDM node between offices .

Slab_Bulkhead

As far as Ohio goes, it looks like most of those CO's are in smaller rural areas. Fairborn is the only Dayton metro area CO that I see there.

SpottedCat

AT&T has been digging up my neighborhood and installing fiber for the past few weeks. They seem to be filling in the last of the unserved neighborhoods in Miami, and I'm sure are doing this in many other cities too.

Totally not surprised they're sunsetting copper land lines. It's antiquated technology and fiber is the future. I definitely won't miss it; haven't had a land line at home since 2012.

Bink63

SpottedCat Totally not surprised they’re sunsetting copper land lines. It’s antiquated technology and fiber is the future. I definitely won’t miss it; haven’t had a land line at home since 2012.

In my tiny spot on the map, comfinity prevented The Deathstar from upgrading us to fiber via astroturf campaigning and “Campaign Donations” to the Village Idiots in charge.

You were saying?

Man-of-Leisure

SpottedCat AT&T has been digging up my neighborhood and installing fiber for the past few weeks. They seem to be filling in the last of the unserved neighborhoods in Miami, and I’m sure are doing this in many other cities too.

I hope they do this in most places, but I’m worried a large percentage of copper areas won’t be getting fiber, and will be stuck with fixed wireless.

I checked several addresses in Napa, CA (hardly a rural area) and you can no longer sign up for DSL there, only fixed wireless. Hopefully they go back and finish their fiber upgrades, but who knows.

Most of the city is now stuck with Comcast or fixed wireless.

Looks like they aren’t only doing Internet Air in rural areas.

mt999999

dslwanter I figured it, too. I've been holding onto my land line for years, but CSR's told me it was "going away soon" a decade ago. Apparently I can keep my service, unless I move or want to make any change. I'm fine with my flat rate line, but I guess they'll just let the copper fully rot on the poles if this (pending legislation) goes through. If I have trouble with the line, since they won't be fully regulated anymore, they might not fix it. I guess that's one way to dump off unwanted copper customers. Well, anyway, if it all goes though, hopefully they'll stop raising the price by ~$1/mo every year or so. My AT&T phone is around $50/mo. after tax now, and I simply can't justify to continued price increases. I'll have to start looking into reliable VoIP services one of these days.

px_eliezer_

mt999999 My AT&T phone is around $50/mo. after tax now, and I simply can't justify to continued price increases. I'll have to start looking into reliable VoIP services one of these days.

That's insane.

As long as your Internet connection is even halfway good, you can get excellent VoIP service from companies such as Callcentric, Voip.MS, "Voipo", or 1-Voip, at much better prices, and with tons of features.

I've had great experience with Callcentric for well over 10 years, for my home and my business.

Splitpair

mt999999

mt999999 If I have trouble with the line, since they won't be fully regulated anymore, they might not fix it

Not only may hey might not repair it they may not have anyone who knows how anymore.

mt999999

px_eliezer_ I'd have to find a new internet service before porting my number to VoIP so there isn't a service interruption. I still have AT&T ADSL bundled with the phone. It's all grandfathered, so I can't keep the DSL without the phone. In 2020, they did away with the phone and internet loyalty credits for POTS service and DSL, and I was going to switch, but they were able to make my DSL $15/mo. I like the reliability of a real phone line, and I do still have a working rotary phone on the kitchen wall, haha. It's now over $65/mo for the phone and internet on one bill, but the $1-2 per month phone increases every year are getting irritating. I'll keep Callcentric in mind if I switch (or when AT&T forces the issue and shuts down the DSLAM). My only other internet option is $$$ Comcast cable.

dslwanter

Splitpair you've always told it like it is. Now, it's happening.

LightSpan

Splitpair Except me and im now retired , so yes !!

mt999999

Splitpair

Well Bonded, is that you?

Splitpair

dslwanter you've always told it like it is. Now, it's happening.

It's a matter of reading the writing on the wall that others don't see or don't want to see.

Splitpair

LightSpan

Man it's nice to see you here "Red Death." ;-)

I really needed you down here around the end of January, a few years back I placed a 48 strand for US Sugar, they advised me it could be just dropped into a drainage ditch which I did.

Now the reason that was done is because CL wanted to set the DEMARC at the property line and advised USS to hire a contractor to extend it to the refinery which I was contracted to do.

Well early this year they decided to dig the drainage ditch deeper and guess what?

Their contractor wrecked 3.4 KF of fiber.

Now I still had the reel of fiber I found on the "side of the road" and do have a Fujikura fusion splicer system that was abandoned when the temps of Construction where laid off, at Davie Blvd, but I really don't know how to properly use it.

The first time when I placed the fiber I hired a contractor working out here on a L3 project, he knocked both ends in less than a day, doing it myself took me 3 days combined with a lot of colorful words,

Fusion splicing looks easy if one knows what they are doing, which I didn't.

LightSpan

Splitpair Good to see you too !! You should have called me, i would have walked you through it .