Home phone, Verizon vs Spectrum

[don6170]

Originally Posted by Lillie767

The old POTS would work even in a power failure. Those good old copper lines have enough juice to keep the telephone lines working.

POTS lines are powered via -48VDC (nominal) from the Central Office (CO). If you are over ~18,000 feet from the CO, you were usually served via a remote cabinet of some sort. COs had massive arrays of 2V batteries (and usually backup generators) to keep the phones working. Remotes typically only had 8 hours of battery backup.

It's a similar situation for cell sites. Most only have the 8-hour backup, because phones can often find another tower to talk to.

[Ellwood]

Have a neighbor, 93 years old. Refuses to use a cell phone. Has Spectrum landline. In the past two years the phone has gone out three times for 2-5 days. He has generator but that means nothing for a landline.