Testing the Waters on POTS Phaseout on Fire Island

When Verizon’s traditional copper phone line infrastructure on New York’s Fire Island and Barrier Island was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, the carrier began offering Voice Link wireless landline replacement service and petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow that to be a permanent solution. However, modernizing plain old telephone service (POTS) has proven to be complex on Fire Island.

The FCC back in June proposed to grant Verizon’s request but offered stakeholders a two-month comment period. Based on comments received, the FCC now has said that it will not automatically grant Verizon’s request but instead wants additional information. The FCC appears particularly concerned about the reliability of Verizon’s wireless infrastructure and its ability to support 911 services. According to Verizon, Voice Link “will identify your exact address for the 911 systems operator,” as with traditional POTS. But the FCC now is asking the carrier to explain how 911 calls placed by Voice Link customers in the affected areas are routed to the appropriate public service answering point, among other concerns, such as Voice Link’s ability to support monitored alarm security systems, fax machines, DVR services, credit card machines and medical alert services. Verizon makes no secret about Voice Link’s limitations, advising Fire Island customers in a letter that such services may not work properly. Industry stakeholders will want to pay close attention to the final outcome on Verizon’s petition, as it should offer an idea of the issues that any carrier will face if it should seek to phase out traditional POTS in favor of a wireless solution.