Fibre to cabinet broadband

[MuckleJoannie]

Once there is 99.9% coverage of phone masts and 5g rolls out having landline broadband is going to seem anachronistic. 

[Ghostrider]

^ I'd add climate/weather proof phone coverage to that list too. Given the amounts of down time on some networks in some locations, it would be madness to rely on it for commercial purposes until there's a vast improvement in resilience.

 

Personally I'll stick with hardwired internets with cellphone as very a reluctant back up as long as hardwired remains viable, relying on just one type of connection is folly, and if/when hardwired goes off the scale of being practical, I'll be looking at satellite as either main or backup, depending on what cellphone has become by if/when that happens.

 

Personally I find the internet currently accessible via cellphone as horrendously useless compared to the usability and functionality of the internet accessible by hardwired, so that's going to have to improve vastly as well to get me won over to cellphone internet.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Ghostrider

[Urabug]

I think it unlikely that every home in the UK will be upgraded to fibre, far to costly, more likely to be done wirelessly using similar methods to WiFi and Bluetooth .

 

The way technology is progressing who knows,but I cannot see companys like BT willing to spend thousands of pounds to upgrade some remote properties if they know that their customers will or already receive a good G4/G5 mobile signal,from an existing or pending mobile mast.

 

I suppose the whole thing comes down to cost,if land lines are the most economic then most folk may stay with them,but the portability of the mobile phone even if more expensive makes it more desirable.

 

Difficult to stick the desktop in my pocket! 

 

I would imagine that which ever way things develop resilience will be carefully considered to keep down on maintenance costs.

 

Routers wireless in,wireless out could well be the way things go.transmitters strategically placed to give maximum coverage.

 

We are likely to be sharing our neighbours  and each others "WiFi"  more in the future than we do at present.

 

Yes I see the copper cable as far as telecommunications is concerned gradually disappearing, but it has a long way to go yet, it is anachronistic right enough.

[Ghostrider]

^ Crystal ball gazing on this one is bedevilled by the whim of humans, which is very fickle.

 

It would be a no brainer that mobile technology would be the way of the future *IF* it was an overall viable replacement/alternative for everything a hardwired desktop can do, but its not. Yeah, carrying a desktop around with you doesn't work so good, but doing any volume of work on a mobile device doesn't work so good either, especially the more involved detailed stuff.

 

Mobile is fine for emails, browsing etc, if you can tolerate the altered functionality of websites that comes with it, but for working longer periods on websites or on documents its a fail, and its that side of things thats going to keep folk resisting a total shift to mobile technology only.

[Urabug]

Yeah,but do not forget Ghostrider that many of these modern devices are real smart and can mirror image each other.

 

So you can still do all your intricated work on the the desktop/laptop and have it on the mobile at the same time,in fact even my tv is smart.

[Suffererof1crankymofo]

Yeah,but do not forget Ghostrider that many of these modern devices are real smart and can mirror image each other.

 

So you can still do all your intricated work on the the desktop/laptop and have it on the mobile at the same time,in fact even my tv is smart.

Rubbish!  Whilst many residential users in the USA now only have a cell phone, all of my mates on the other side of the pond who have businesses still rely on a landline.

 

Occasionally, when BT has fallen over and on the rare occasion when mobile has remained in use, it was incredibly painful to connect to the London office and the internet phone connection didn't work.  Downloading a sound file - over 20 minutes compared to two minutes, working remotely on a Word document on the London file server - forget it.  Even my bosses hate remote working when they are out on-site with the iPads and wait until they are back in the office to download stuff.

[Urabug]

Rubbish indeed,still think that the advancements in mobile technology and increased coverage might have a considerable impact on the demand on landlines.

 

Time will tell!

[Spinner72]

There are already a number of places in the Isles with 4G but no decent (

 

There is no question whatsoever that I will ditch the landline if I can get a 4G signal at home.

[aaa22]

There are already a number of places in the Isles with 4G but no decent (<1Mb) broadband. Its just a click of a button to make your mobile a wifi hotspot, so you can just use a laptop with no compromise on functionality. It is so much simpler to just use one thing, which you can take with you and access almost anywhere. I'm on a mobile internet connection just now.

 

There is no question whatsoever that I will ditch the landline if I can get a 4G signal at h

But for a family I can say what with all the streaming of videos and games downloads that goes on, we use average 90gb. what 4g contract covers that amount of data at an affordable amount? I have heard that someone streamed sky movies here in Shetland on vodafone and got a £800 bill! there is not an easy way to stop your device from going over, and if you do it hurts the pocket really bad. all though I don’t use the landline i am stuck having to pay for line rental, a phone contract then the broadband. but its still cheaper than being several data sim cards for devices! Oh, and for those that shout tethering, look very closely at those terms and conditions, you may be allowed to but only at a monthly cap. Charges may still apply if you go over that amount. And they will know too, probably because your device will start downloading windows 10 updates.

[Ghostrider]

No doubt cellphone networks are, and will continue to make inroads as a sole alternative to hardwired landline internet where cellphone networks are capable, just as cellphones have made significant inroads as a sole viable alternative to landlne phones. The cellphone network has one hell of a long way to go though, especially in Shetland, before the connectivity and reliability of cellphone networks are that for a hell of a lot of us, especially those of us facing the coast hidden from signals by higher ground.

 

Round here the cell signal, like all TV, radio etc signals, is weak, drifting to unviable occasionally, and falls over with monontonous regularity for hours on end. Then, as aaa22 says, there's the cost factor. *If* you're somone on a cell connection already that your internet data traffic won't exceed the limit of your present deal, its a no brainer, but if you're either having to pay penalty charges for going over, or having to upgrade to a more expensive package to cope, having the landline soon makes financial sense. Then there's those of us who don't have a mobile phone, don't want a mobile phone, and don't want to have to deal with either phones nor internets when we're out and about - that's our 'sanity time' to escape for the cursed electronica that blights our everyday lives.

Edited September 25, 2017 by Ghostrider

[Colin]

It is easy to forget that businesses require cheap, reliable telephone comms.  Ok "cheap" can be a bit misleading but, when it comes to reliability, landline wins every time.

There is also the little issue of Fax machines..  Want to carry one of those in your "mobile"?

 

I can't imagine any business that would hand out a dozen (or more) mobiles to staff members for normal, everyday business use..  The contract costs could be prohibitive and there would be little control over what the device is being used for. 

 

Also, the problem for customers/suppliers is which number do I call?  Will I get a switchboard that will route me to the correct handset?  Will I have to hold several minutes whilst it polls?  What if the requred handset is engaged, will I have to start all over?  Is it really worth the bother as I "know" that xyz & co still uses landline and can easily phone them and, if I use a landline, the call cost is much lower.

 

I know that the technology exists to overcome most (if not all) of the above but, as yet, it is still pretty expensive and can be complicated to set up.

[Urabug]

It is easy to forget that businesses require cheap, reliable telephone comms.  Ok "cheap" can be a bit misleading but, when it comes to reliability, landline wins every time.

There is also the little issue of Fax machines..  Want to carry one of those in your "mobile"?

 

I can't imagine any business that would hand out a dozen (or more) mobiles to staff members for normal, everyday business use..  The contract costs could be prohibitive and there would be little control over what the device is being used for. 

 

Also, the problem for customers/suppliers is which number do I call?  Will I get a switchboard that will route me to the correct handset?  Will I have to hold several minutes whilst it polls?  What if the requred handset is engaged, will I have to start all over?  Is it really worth the bother as I "know" that xyz & co still uses landline and can easily phone them and, if I use a landline, the call cost is much lower.

 

I know that the technology exists to overcome most (if not all) of the above but, as yet, it is still pretty expensive and can be complicated to set up.

The council,BT,SSE,Scottish Water,NHS just a few that I'm almost sure provide mobiles to there staff,but for business use only,personal calls are usually charged to the user .

 

Mobile phones can save companys lots of money especially for staff who travel about a lot.

[MuckleJoannie]

 

There is also the little issue of Fax machines..  Want to carry one of those in your "mobile"?

 

 

There are plenty of fax apps for mobile phones. Use the camera to photograph documents.

 

http://www.androidauthority.com/best-fax-apps-android-777290/

[George.]

There is also the little issue of Fax machines.. 

 

How many people use a fax machine now?

[Suffererof1crankymofo]

 

There is also the little issue of Fax machines.. 

 

How many people use a fax machine now?

 

Not as many as previously, and whilst there are apps available to send/receive faxes via e-mail, not everyone has e-mail.