Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
 ·Comcast
1 edit | reply to GOLFnSUN
Re: VoIP isn't POTS....
said by GOLFnSUN  :POTS isn't POTS either. If you are making a long distance call in the US, your call is being converted from analog into digital between cities anyway. The Earthlink svc isn't any different in that regard. But that's not the point. POTS is powered remotely by the CO and has backup batteries and a generator to allow calls to be completed even in a power failure. No VoIP system can claim that kind of disaster preparedness.
I remember the power failure of August 2003. I had no power or running water (the pumping stations didn't have backup power) but my POTS line never failed for the entire duration of the outage.
That having been said, what Earthlink is offering sounds interesting, especially the bit about being line powered. That's a big plus in my opinion. I wonder exactly what type of backup systems they have in place. |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
·Optimum Online
| said by Jim Gurd :That having been said, what Earthlink is offering sounds interesting, especially the bit about being line powered. That's a big plus in my opinion. I wonder exactly what type of backup systems they have in place. As far as power is concerned, they have the same backup that the rest of the phone company CO has since they are co-located there.
As far as redundant backhauls out of the CO... well unless they've changed something, Covad is very cheap with that.
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Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity |
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lumpy9138
Premium
join:2003-12-19
Elgin, IL | reply to Jim Gurd
That statement is not true. Comcast digital voice comes with a battery back up in the MTA, and has battery back up on the main lines, and will also work with alarms, fax, dial up modems, etc.... |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast
| said by lumpy9138 :That statement is not true. Comcast digital voice comes with a battery back up in the MTA, and has battery back up on the main lines, and will also work with alarms, fax, dial up modems, etc.... Yeah, but how long does the battery last? I'll bet not more than 8 hours. That's fine for short term outages but what happens when the power is out for 2 or 3 days such as after a big storm that knocks down a lot of power lines.
The advantage of line powered systems is that the central office usually has diesel generators that can last a week or more. |
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