MAJOR issue for the 911 Emergency call system that has been caused by the FCC rules on VOIP phone systems (like uverse and Time Warner Cable just to name a few).

This issue is a nationwide issue because it affects all 50 states! It also is not limited to AT&T Uverse as Time Warner Cable (TWC) has also confirmed that they are no longer providing modems/gateways with battery backup built in, in time all of the MAJOR Home Telecoms will stop doing this and then we will have a MAJOR breakage of the 911 system during a power outage!

There has to be a reasonable expectation that HOME PHONE service no matter if it is copper line or VOIP should always work during a power outage because you cant always count on cell service during major national disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, or floods (just to name a few).

The National Cable & Telecommunications Association lobbied the FCC and said this on page 3 of their brief (which can be found here) https://prodnet.www.neca.org/publicationsdocs/wwpdf/2515ncta.pdf

"(1) Cable VoIP customers make Voluntary decision to purchase and IP-based voice service (and expressly acknowledge the powering limitations of this service), rather then purchasing a legacy circuit-switched service", however that statement is not true what these companies are doing is bundling VOIP home service with Internet and Cable tv, lowering the cost of getting all 3 as a way to lure unsuspecting people to VOIP so that they can retire the old POTS system and stop shelling out the money needed for repairs to it. In doing so they mislead the consumer into a false pretext that the VOIP service will like their old (POTS) system always be there in the event of a power outage, which it will not.

"(2) The overwhelming majority of VoIP customers also purchase mobile voice service" again this is not true especially if you live in an rural area where cell server either does not work of you might have to drive a mile or two down the road just to get 1 bar of service.

"(3) The overwhelming majority of home telephones are cordless phones that do not work during a power outage;" Again this is not true yes a lot of people have cordless phone but most of them also have at least 1 corded phone in their home that can used during a power outage especially in rural areas where you can loose power on a bright sunny day.

"(5) The overwhelming majority of cable VoIP customers decline to purchase a battery backup when it is offered." If the providing company explained the issue with no phone when power it out maybe they would purchase it, but again instead the try to bundle the VOIP home phone service with other services without telling the customer about the issues that can happen.

Now on page 8 they say this "For a variety of reasons, there is no basis for placing responsibility for the operation of CPE (customer powered Equipment) during a commercial power outage on VoIP providers. First, customer expectations for VoIP in 2015 are not the same as they were with legacy voice service provided over copper lines" So now they say just cause its 2015 that we the consumers should not expect our home phone systems work during a power outage like the used to?????

They also go on to say that 70 percent of 911 calls originate from mobile phones (yea that may be true in city areas where theres lots of cell towers but in you look at just the rural areas you will see a different story there I'm sure you will its more land line (copper POTS) call then cell calls.

According to  the FCC (FCC-15-98A1.pdf PS Docket 14-174 (https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-15-98A1.pdf ), the providers of VOIP home phone service are NOT required to provide a built in battery that would keep a subscribers home phone line on for 4 to 8 hours(depending on usage of the line) and that at the time of sale the company is supposed to notify the customer that the phone services will not work unless the consumer purchases a battery back up system (external) for the modem/gateway.

Now here's the issue with that I live in an  area where cell phone coverage is not good if not non existent (just to give you an example even the Fire Department 800mhz radios have issues in my area). AT&T uverse 4 years ago came in our area offering internet, cable tv, and VOIP phone service (replacing our old copper line phone and DSL service) at that time they told us that the Uverse gateway had a battery back up to keep the phone line only active during a power failure so I got the service and moved over to VOIP Home service, now in April of this year they replace my gateway with a new one that has a place for a ($50 if ordered from the company that makes the gateway) battery but did not have in it! They told me that the FCC no longer requires VOIP providers to maintain home phone service during power outages.

Now this leads me to the 911 issue, lets say lighting strikes a transformer on a pole cuts the power off, then I cant call 911 to let the fire dept or the electric company know there is an issue......what if during that power outage an elderly person has chest pains and needs to call 911 for ems/fire first reponder's.... well now they cant cause the power is out and the uverse VOIP gateway had no power to keep the phone line on......someone could loose their life to this...

I have already spoken with the FCC and they told me on the phone that the FCC does not require VOIP home phone services to always be on even during a power outage but I it is required if you have the old copper pair phone lines.

Just cause the Technology changes does not mean we need to put people life's in danger. Company's like AT&T or TWC like moving people over to VOIP it saves them money but the lack of 911 use ability during power outage is unacceptable and needs to be changed!