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Report: The Bell May Be Tolling For Traditional Phone Companies In Florida
July 5, 2011
Remember Ma Bell’s good old days? You know, the days before 11-year-olds carried cell phones and Skype was a verb.
Well, a new report shows those days are long gone.
The Florida Public Service Commission signed off last week on a draft report that reflects the continued transformation of the telecommunications industry, as residents ditch their old phone lines and turn to wireless and other technology.
Consider this finding: About 16.9 million wireless handsets were in use in Florida as of June 30, 2010 — nearly one for each person in the state.
Or this: 27.3 percent of Florida adults lived in wireless-only households during the period from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010. That was up from an estimated 22.9 percent the previous year.
Or this: In 2010, longstanding carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, saw a 20 percent drop in residential and business “access” lines, an industry measurement of the wireline market.
AT&T spokesman Don Sadler said the report reflects the changes that his company has seen during the past 15 years, as competition and technology have increased.
That has forced old-line carriers to change from primarily delivering service to the phone on your kitchen wall — and focus on devices that you can use to call, text, send e-mails, watch videos, read books or do seemingly countless other things.
“What it basically has done is caused us to step up and meet the desires of our customers,” Sadler said.
But the shift away from traditional phone service isn’t limited to Blackberries, iPhones, Droids and other types of wireless devices. The report shows that many Floridians also now get phone service through what in the past were cable TV companies.
“The increasing demand for mobility and for more data intensive services like video is changing the way consumers think about voice services and influencing product selection,” the report says. “Pricing strategies that bundle broadband, mobility and voice services together are contributing to the continuing decline in residential wireline access lines.”
The information is in a Public Service Commission-produced telecommunications report compiled each year for the Legislature.
Many of the trends in the report have served as a basis for lawmakers to ease regulations on the telecommunications industry. That culminated this year, when lawmakers largely stripped the PSC of its regulation of phone services.
Some groups, such as AARP, have fought such deregulation efforts, arguing that many seniors still have wireline phones and need protections against rate increases.
But the industry has argued that regulations put wireline companies at a competitive disadvantage – because the PSC does not regulate wireless and cable services.
Also, the industry has contended that consumers have more choices now, such as wireless, which reduces the need for regulation.
“The competition is out there, and people are vying for communication dollars,” Sadler said.
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida
Comments
12 Responses to “Report: The Bell May Be Tolling For Traditional Phone Companies In Florida”
spoiled is good
i read these posts and laugh to myself. you people are SPOILED. you have tv service where you can see 300 channels, air conditioning, cars to drive, clothes and food. a bus picks up your kids and takes em to school. clean water to drink. you flip a switch and the lights come on. you pick up the phone and you can call anywhere in the world. everyone should have a tour in a war zone. LIFE IS GOOD AND WE HAVE IT MADE.
REGARDING:
“I’m waiting for the day they won’t let you buy a telephone and the only way you can get one is SIGN A 10 YEAR contract as I don’t think any Company anymore cares about the customer.”
You’re probably too young to remember back when you COULDN’T own your own phone. You rented it from South Central Bell or Southern Bell (we were right at the dividing line of the two Bell Babies). It was $4 per month per phone.
I remember once at a church business meeting I suggested we buy our phones and stop renting them from the company. One of the ladies explained to me that this way if a phone quit working, they would replace it at no additional charge.
I pointed out that we could buy a phone for $10 and at that rate if they averaged lasting longer than two and a half months a piece, it would still be cheaper to buy than to rent. They reluctantly went along.
Then the preacher wondered about the phone that was in the closet, if we needed to return it with the others. It had been in the closet, broken since he was called to pastor. We’d been paying $4 a month rent the entire time for a piece of junk.
Nobody was at fault, we just didn’t know.
And while the company doesn’t care about you like your family does, they DO want to keep you satisfied if that’s what it takes to keep your business (and get your money).
David for good value
Your right David Sometimes you do have options and I no longer let
them give me a cell phone OR sign one of their stupid contracts.
You should see the looks I get when I renew my insurance on my
phone and won’t sign a contract to get a new one. I have a great
phone and if something goes wrong with it, THEY have to give me
another.
I just don’t want to see the same thing happen when you have
a land line with NO OTHER OPTION, and they won’t give you
decent service. Don’t think it doesn’t happen.
I’m waiting for the day they won’t let you buy a telephone and the
only way you can get one is SIGN A 10 YEAR contract as I don’t
think any Company anymore cares about the customer.
It is all the same hoohaw, lock you in and Charge you up the
ying-yang! We don’t care, we don’t have to, we’re the PHONE
COMPANY…..
REGARDING:
“David….
If there is only one land line provider then WHO you gonna CALL. A choice to change land lines is NOT always possible, and how long do you think it will be before we have to take out a 2 year contract like we do with our cell phones.”
If there is only one land line provider and you MUST use a land line, you have no options. If you have other options and aren’t happy with your land line service, you might take one of those other options.
I agree, there are dead spots in houses and other areas which make wireless less favorable than landline. If it weren’t for that, even more people would have switched to wireless. We switched from Verizon to AT&T because they had such poor service in Century. I think Verizon improved service since then but haven’t checked because I am satisfied and won‘t change unless AT&T bugs me with poor service.
As to the 2 year contract, that is only to get a free or reduced cost cell phone. If you don’t get one, you don’t have to sign a long term contract. In fact several companies sell phones with so many minutes and no contract at all.
You have options.
David considering options
David….
If there is only one land line provider then WHO you gonna CALL.
A choice to change land lines is NOT always possible, and how
long do you think it will be before we have to take out a 2 year contract
like we do with our cell phones.
NO DAVID we need PSC or some fact simile over the land line
providers who would take our money and blow us off when we
don’t have service.
I just paid off my cell phone company (who told me when I signed
with them that I would have good service here and I found out I
had nothing in the house) over 5 hundred dollars to get out
of my contract. They said they don’t guarantee service in the home.
Well they said they did when I signed the contract. I discussed it
in some detail with them because I just waited for get out of my
contract with another company. Guess next time I’ll have to take my LAWYER to read the stupid thing and tell me if I should sign it or not.
I sure wouldn’t want that to happen with my Cell phone.
Nobody cares anymore.
“SPIT”
REGARDING:
” but now you have no one to
call if your phone co. isn’t doing you justice.”
I think the idea is that you are no longer stuck with them if you don’t feel they are doing you justice. You can switch to some other carrier. If they have to provide service to get your money, they will do so or the one you finally stick with will.
David for freedom of choice
Now you have to look in several telephone directories to find a number and it may still not ne there if you provider doesn’t have a book. This is what some asked for. They didn’t realize how good they had it.
Yep PSC IS no longer over your phone company but now you have no one to
call if your phone co. isn’t doing you justice. If you don’t have good service
or no service and some pudunct company who doesn’t know what their doing
or just doesn’t care that your phone has been out for 5 days …… so what…..YOU HAVE NO PSC ANY MORE TO CALL. That was always who you called that
got the job done when your phone company blew you off.
NOW WHAT !
during ivan, my power was out, no water, my cell phone didn’t work, gas was very hard to find; but e911 and that old wall phone kept on working. i’m keeping mine.
I have no need for a cell phone. I carry a prepaid just for emergency. My home phone is all I need.
All I have is a “land line”..No one in the house has a cell phone!! I like the old fashion way of doing things!