Beta Testing the Final Transition to IP Broadband

AT&T filed comments reaffirming its request to have the Federal Communications Commission conduct geographic trials to oversee the final transition away from the legacy plain old telephone service (POTS) infrastructure that has served this country for more than 100 years.

I say the “final transition” because the reality is that the vast majority of consumers have already made this transition. As US Telecom ably documented in its Switched Voice Non-Dominance Petition, the number of consumers who connect to the POTS infrastructure and the use of that infrastructure have plummeted in the last decade. Consumer access lines and minutes of use (MOUs) are down +70% from peak totals as more and more consumers switch to VoIP alternatives (offered by companies who have physical networks as well as over-the-top virtual network service providers), wireless services and other forms of digital communications.