I have a cell phone I use when away, but I prefer my land line!
Guess what? I'm NOT A Senior Citizen ~
Save the Landlines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Contact your Senator in Ohio!
With the steady stream of innovations to wireless phones, many companies are regarding the traditional landline as obsolete.
That's the basis behind proposed legislation in the Ohio General Assembly that would allow companies to discontinue basic phone service and be exempt from quality standards set forth by Senate Bill 162, also known as the
Ohio Telecom Modernization Act, passed in 2009.
The proposed legislation,
Senate Bill 271, is in committee before the Ohio House of Representatives after being approved by the senate. By being exempt from Senate Bill 162, companies can avoid stipulations such as repairing outages within 72 hours and installation of new service within five business days.
"In some ways you realize that markets are constantly changing. Fifteen years ago the prevalence of cell phones and the fact that cell phones might replace landlines was not necessarily conceivable," said Ohio Rep. Andy Thompson, R-Marietta.
The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Frank LaRose, of Fairlawn, has told The Associated Press the purpose of the bill is to allow companies to invest in high-speed services.
Charles Moses, president of the Ohio Telecom Association, which represents companies like AT&T and Frontier Communications, and supports the bill, said the bill modernizes Ohio's telecommunications law and responds to increased competition in the marketplace.
The bill addresses Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) obligations that previously required franchises to serve everyone who wanted service in a franchise territory.
The Ohio Consumers Counsel and AARP Ohio are both working with legislators to refine the proposed bill.
"There is clearly still a need for landline service, as just kind of a backup if not the main source of telephone calls," Thompson said.
Senior citizens are one of the groups most affected by the loss of basic landline service, the OCC and AARP say.
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