Decommissioning Copper Lines Makes Us Less Safe
Some local broadband information:
The government here is gradually, strategically decommissioning copper for telecommunication (optical is faster). It's a policy reinforced by financial incentives. The next stage will be dismantling (removal, uprooting). Perhaps the material can be better used for transmission of energy. It became exceedingly expensive and scarce. Countries allocate more budget to their military, which is hungry for copper or near-equivalents, which are solid and conduct well.
To me, even if it's not glaringly obvious to most people, one obvious downside (which the Cybershow mentioned as well*) is that modern "landlines" aren't actually landlines, which could (and still can) run with no power source except the socket (sort of like USB or classic headphones). They're just some Internet appliances that connect to Wi-Fi and charge for calls as it they're landlines that need a sophisticated network of switches, exchanges, and human beings plugging ends of cables (like in the old days; see the photograph by Joseph A. Carr on the left).
Last night we had a temporary Internet outage. Reason? Unknown. External to us. There was no reboot or anything (except maybe at the exchange somewhere near to us). It only lasted a few minutes, but that was enough to drop many live connections, including SSH sessions. Had I been on a call, even with emergency services (e.g. fire inside the home), it would get hung up on. Really bad. Really not safe.
I've long advocated against this and kept saying that emergency services would only be reachable if 1) there is a working power line (for the router/hub). 2) The Internet is fully available.
We've essentially degraded the robustness or reliability of critical systems. Critical to life, not just some business operations. It is a self-inflicted wound.
Remember that what's newer is not better in every single way. Compromises are made. Who for? █
____
* Cybershow folks released a new episode this past Thursday.
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5169771 and http://www.JoeTourist.net/