TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: We've Come So Far ...

Re: We've Come So Far ...

Mark Crispin (mrc@cac.washington.edu)
Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:18:13 -0700

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007, John Mayson wrote:

> Did telephone service become cheaper before or after 1/1/1984? It's a
> serious question, I don't know.

In general, long (both regional and national) distance and
international calls become MUCH cheaper. Pre-1984, we used to worry
about how much a call to a relative in another state would cost and
we'd keep the call as short as possible. International calls would
cost a goodly portion of the national debt.

However, a POTS line for local (or incoming) calls only has become
more expensive; it's now $20 or so instead of $6 (and that's assuming
that you have long distance disabled or you have to pay an additional
set of fees for the long distance privilege).

Fortunately, the advent of DSL, cable modems, etc. have eliminated the
need for modem lines. I once had four POTS lines (voice + three
data); now I have just one.

I understand why many of the kids choose not to have POTS service at
all. The argument about POTS being more reliable than cellular/VOIP
doesn't hold in my neighborhood; POTS *always* goes down during a
power outage (an event that happens several times a year).

-- Mark --

http://panda.com/mrc
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.

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