The proposed changes to the current landline system in the United States will replace the currently used copper wires.Reuters
Move over, Ma Bell.
While cellular iPhones and VoIP calls placed over fiber-optic cables are how many Americans make phone calls today, the backbone of the country's communication system is still a century-old network of copper wires -- the POTS network, short for plain old telephone system. And even cellular calls still touch and depend on all that old copper.
That's about to change, however.
'This is what I have called the Fourth Network Revolution, and it is a good thing.'
- FCC chairman Tom Wheeler
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday announced plans to expedite the largest change to the nation's phone system in decades -- a move away from circuit-switched systems that send analog signals over copper cables to a digital, IP-based network that largely relies on fiber optic.
'This is what I have called the Fourth Network Revolution, and it is a good thing,' FCC chairman Tom Wheeler wrote in a blog post. 'The way forward is to encourage technological change while preserving the attributes of network services that customers have come to expect ... we have listened, and now it is the time to act. In this, I agree with my commission colleagues.'
In January, the FCC is expected to begin 'a diverse set of experiments' in order to figure out how to transition to the new IP-based system, a transition that will likely take years, if not decades. The initial tests will experiments will likely include regional tests of an IP-based system to ascertain reliability, scalability and so on, an FCC spokesman told FoxNews.com.
The upgrade may mean introducing the age of video calling to landlines. An IP landline network, unlike current copper wires can handle much larger amounts of data that could be used to make video calls.
'Our current infrastructure has served us well for almost a century but it no longer meets the needs of America's consumers,' AT&T's Jim Cicconi said in a response published online. 'The transition to broadband and IP services that has already begun is driven by consumers who are moving to the Internet and choosing to connect in ways not imagined just a decade ago.'
Companies like Verizon and AT&T currently control the existing landline phone network and are subject to strict rules by the FCC to protect consumers. It is unclear how the planned changes will affect the telephone companies as the FCC has historically been opposed to classifying broadband Internet as a telecom service.
'The way forward is to encourage technological change while preserving the attributes of network services that customers have come to expect,' Wheeler wrote. 'History has shown that new networks catalyze innovation, investment, ideas, and ingenuity.'
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