Wireline

摘要

Verizon applied for Section 214 authority Friday to discontinue its interstate wireline telecom servicesnin areas of New York and New Jersey where copper facilities were destroyed by Superstorm Sandyn(http://bit.ly/19PXOjp). While it’s discontinuing its service over “copper infrastructure that is no longernusable,” Verizon plans to make available its wireless Voice Link service “where the deployment of newnwireline facilities is not practical,” it said in the filing. The filing comes a day after Public Knowledgencautioned against “potential confusion” it said could accompany the transition away from the publicnswitched telephone network (CD June 7 p15): After a natural disaster, are TDM service providers requirednto file a 214(a) application if they plan to discontinue copper landline service? Verizon’s Fridaynfiling “marks the first official act of the much heralded ‘end of the traditional phone network,’” said PublicnKnowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. "As the FCC and state regulators consider Verizon'snrequest to eliminate its copper lines for good, it must carefully consider how to manage this transition,”nFeld said. Feld warned that wireless services like Voice Link could face problems like congestion, incompatibilitynwith older telecom equipment, and potential failure if power is lost. “Verizon should not be requirednto keep an increasingly antiquated copper system alive forever,” he said. “But the transition to thennew networks must be done in a way that protects consumers.”