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A question about Verizon landlines

salamy1990

I am thinking about switching my home phone to Verizon from Comcast because whenever I lose electricity my phone doesn't work. (The backup battery from Comcast is useless.) Does Verizon still use old-fashioned, actual, physical phone wires? Or do they only use modems and battery backups for new subscribers? Thank you.

Comments

tns

Not everywhere. And if you use fios definitely not. Copper technology is beginning to be replaced in some communities.

armond_in_nj1

I have both FiOS VoIP and a POTS (or copper) line in my home. The company initially wanted to port my existing Verizon POTS line to FiOS VoIP, but I required that they maintain the service, which they were able to do. Took some doing and last minute order changes, but it definitely is possible.

BeenDefrauded

I thought I also had a copper POTS line with FIOS but learned that it is not possible. I have been paying for years for a "copper" phone line with my FIOS service but a tech came out this week and informed me (and showed me) that it is not true. It is all digital and if the power goes out your "copper" line will not work any longer than the battery back up lasts.

Verizon has now confirmed this multiple times over the weekend as it is not possible to have both!! Basically I have been misled for years and have been overpaying. What's more disappointing is that Verizon chooses to ignore the issue and do nothing for me after they essentially lied to me for years. I am now working with some people who are looking into a class action lawsuit as they clearly are misleading hundreds of thousands of people.

Call them up. Speak to a supervisor and they will confirm to you that your "copper" line does not in fact exist (if you also have FIOS).

armond_in_nj1

@BeenDefrauded wrote:
I thought I also had a copper POTS line with FIOS but learned that it is not possible. I have been paying for years for a "copper" phone line with my FIOS service but a tech came out this week and informed me (and showed me) that it is not true. It is all digital and if the power goes out your "copper" line will not work any longer than the battery back up lasts.
Call them up. Speak to a supervisor and they will confirm to you that your "copper" line does not in fact exist (if you also have FIOS).

There are terminology issues here that should be addressed, in particular the phrase "copper phone line with my FiOS service." It certainly is possible to have both a "copper" POTS line and a FiOS VoIP line at the same time. I know this is true because I have such an installation at my home, with 2 separate monthly invoices to prove it.. I made it a requirement of my FiOS purchase that the original POTS line be maintained and that no changes be allowed to that arrangement.

However it is not possible to have a single FiOS-based telephone line that uses copper wiring coming INTO the home from the street, although telephone wiring inside the building will normally run on Cat3 copper wires. What your installation had, from the time you first had a FiOS optical cable installed in your home, is a fiber-based system with a VoIP line. This telephone system sends packets over the Internet. It is not, never was, and simply cannot be, "copper-based."

It also seems unlikely that a cabal of employees at Verizon held a meeting and conspired to "defraud" you about "copper FiOS." More likely you misunderstood the technology from the onset.. This is unfortunate because the introductory literature both online and in FiOS promotional material clearly describes the basic technology, battery backups, fiber cables, etc. If you later ask the company to re-install copper wiring and provide a POTS line, you will most likely find that they will not do it in your area, or that the charge will be out of proportion to the value.

BeenDefrauded

I agree that it most likely is possible to have the traditional copper phone lines along with Fios; which is what I had thought I was paying for. As of now, the Verizon customer service line will explain that this is what I have each and every time I call. But if I Pursue harder and speak to someone "more" knowledgeable I learn that it is not true. I am not saying that there is a conspiracy against me. I am disappointed that I was sold something and then was delivered a different product. I believe Verizon should stand behind what they sell and deliver on those promises.

I originally had a copper line and asked to keep that line when FIOS was installed; it was confirmed to me that the copper line would be left intact. So as of today, Verizon confirms to me that I have a copper phone line, they confirm to me that if the power goes out I "should" be OK since my traditional copper line would be fine (unless that line is disrupted). In reality my copper phone line is only as good as the battery backup in my FIOS box. I believe that Verizon should straighten this out and deliver what I paid for.

perhaps someone from Verizon can post here and explain EXACTLY what is going on.

armond_in_nj1

@BeenDefrauded wrote:
... I originally had a copper line and asked to keep that line when FIOS was installed; it was confirmed to me that the copper line would be left intact. So as of today, Verizon confirms to me that I have a copper phone line, they confirm to me that if the power goes out I "should" be OK since my traditional copper line would be fine (unless that line is disrupted). In reality my copper phone line is only as good as the battery backup in my FIOS box. I believe that Verizon should straighten this out and deliver what I paid for ... perhaps someone from Verizon can post here and explain EXACTLY what is going on.

I still cannot say that I understand your setup based on the descriptions you have given (and I speak reasonable English). Are you saying that you have an actual telephone line that operates over copper wires inside your house, and that this line is independent of FiOS (the only possibility), or are you saying that the copper wires that were formerly used for your phone service were left intact, but that you now receive phone service over FiOS. If you have FiOS and a copper POTS line, then you must necessarily be receiving two separate monthly bills. If that's not the case, then you don't have (and haven't had for some time) a POTS (or "copper") line It's got to be one situation or the other, but frankly I cannot determine this using your description. Sorry, mate, but perhaps it's a lack on my part. Maybe another user or a Verizon person can help, but I don't think I can.

BeenDefrauded

Let me try to answer this way:

If I call Verizon, I am told that I have Copper POTS lines and that I am paying for them. This makes sense as this is what I thought I had and what I thought I was paying for. I do also have FIOS service for my TV and internet. I receive one bill in the mail however and not two bills.

If I do not have a copper or POTS line...which seems to be the case then my question is what am I paying (or overpaying for). Verizon tells me that I do have a POTS line but that it will only be as good as the battery backup that was installed. This is when a supervisor started to tell me that I have a "copper" plan...it's thoroughly confusing. I am very upset with Verizon

It also strikes me as odd that I cannot have someone from Verizon explain this to me.

armond_in_nj1

@BeenDefrauded wrote:
... I do also have FIOS service for my TV and internet. I receive one bill in the mail however and not two bills. If I do not have a copper or POTS line...which seems to be the case then my question is what am I paying (or overpaying for). Verizon tells me that I do have a POTS line but that it will only be as good as the battery backup that was installe
This is my last try. You get one bill covering TV, Internet, and phone. You have therefore a single optical cable coming into your house which provides all three sources of information using a box called an ONT. That's called FiOS. It has nothing to do with "copper POTS." The ONT essentially decodes the signals on the fiber cable and turns these signals into useful information for your TV, computer, and phones. That's pretty much it. Unless you have a separate physical copper wire coming into your home that's connected directly to your telephone wires, you do NOT have copper POTS. If you did have this copper wire, you would get a separate bill in the mail each month. This is the way these things work. I'd like to make this more emphatic, but I don't seem to be having much luck.

CTerenzi

Don't get down on him, Armond, he was lied to. He specifically asked for the old copper service, but what he got was a new service on a new network that is not as reliable in the event of an extended power outage. The difference isn't apparent to anyone who's not a communications technician. I find myself in the same situation as BD today. When I set up FiOS at my new home two years ago, I specifically asked if I could have a "plain old telephone service" copper line installed for the telephone portion of my bundle, and was told that wouldn't be a problem. Two years later, the promotional discounts are running out so I called to renew my contract and retain my discounts. I got all the way through the process and was reasonably pleased with how things were going until the CSR noted that she didn't see anything in my account to indicate that I had a copper line to my home. She had to call up the technical support team to verify, and their rep explained that what I have is an old style telephone service over the fiber network.

This is NOT what I asked for when I signed up. I was very clear about what I wanted and was assured that was what I was getting. Had I known that I would not have phone service on the old copper network, I would not have gotten phone service at all. If at some point I wanted phone service that relies on the same feed as my Internet and television service, there are many competitors that offer it much cheaper.

Currently I am awaiting a phone call from a manager, which should happen some time before noon tomorrow. What I learn from that call will determine whether Verizon retains me as a customer or loses me for all of their services while I explore legal options to recoup my costs.

armond_in_nj1

@CTerenzi wrote:
Don't get down on him, Armond, he was lied to. He specifically asked for the old copper service, but what he got was a new service on a new network that is not as reliable in the event of an extended power outage. When I set up FiOS at my new home two years ago, I specifically asked if I could have a "plain old telephone service" copper line installed for the telephone portion of my bundle, and was told that wouldn't be a problem.
I am of course not "down on" anyone. Rather I am trying to explain the FiOS standard setup as well as I can. As mentioned earlier, this effort has met with little success. This is somewhat puzzling, since information and explanations on FiOS technology are readily available on the Verizon web site and in consumer literature.
The original post in this thread asks if it is possible to have both a FiOS service and copper-wire based POTS at the same time in one residence. I stated that this is indeed possible because it is exactly the arrangement at my home. Subsequently other writers (yourself included) stated that Verizon misled them. It is not clear to me how these accusations help to explain to the original poster that having both services in one dwelling is simple (if I , a non-expert, can arrange it so can anyone else).
I am not inclined to support one or the other side of a story until I have heard both, but in this case that will of course not be possible. Neither am I interested in doing so in this instance. Further, I don't immediately see how such a diversion provides helpful information on the original issue. Perhaps this thread will eventually return to the subject matter at hand, rather than decay into something less.

BeenDefrauded

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This is somewhat puzzling, since information and explanations on FiOS technology are readily available on the Verizon web site and in consumer literature.

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Armond,

This will be my last post on this thread as Elizabeth has asked to return to the main topic.

If the information is "readily available" all over the place then why is everyone at Verizon giving me the incorrect information???? Shouldn't they easily be able to read from the literature posted all over the Verizon site and in consumer literature? I have the information from various customer support reps as well as supervisors.

Perhaps you should be more puzzled by that fact.

armond_in_nj1

@BeenDefrauded wrote:
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If the information is "readily available" all over the place then why is everyone at Verizon giving me the incorrect information????

Heck, I'm as upset as the next guy (or gal). Thank you for bringing this dastardly situation to light. It has now become crystal clear that there is a plot within Verizon to deny access to extremely vital information to selected customers, yourself among them. This is absolutely intolerable. I hope we soon get to the bottom of this without resorting to drastic action. BTW I wish you great success in your quest to do so.

Just in case: IRONY ALERT

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