|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
On Tuesday, March 26, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to pass a resolution against AT&T’s request to the California Public Utilities Commission to be removed from its obligation to provide landline services to its customers throughout the state, according to a county press release.
AT&T’s request will “threaten the county’s most vulnerable residents during wildfire and other emergencies,” board members said in a release.
The company’s application to CPUC states that it wants to transition from copper phone lines to fiber and a wireless-based network. For residents with unreliable cellular service, AT&T’s desire to remove its designation as the “Carrier of Last Resort” will take away access to 911 and telephone relay service, according to the county.
“Landlines are a lifeline in many areas of San Mateo County,” said District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller in a statement. “These residents live within a 20-minute drive to Silicon Valley yet have spotty or nonexistent cell service. Given the threats from wildfire, storms, tsunamis and other natural disasters, we simply cannot allow AT&T to leave these residents without ready access to 911 and other emergency services.”
The resolution mentions that during the storm in February, 74,000 electrical customers lost power and without landline services, cellular phone services are not guaranteed to work during an outage. Copper wire landline services however will continue to operate during power outages.
AT&T claims that they will continue to “offer basic telephone service in all of its service area unless and until it separately obtains all necessary permission to stop, so no customer will lose service if the Commission approves AT&T California’s application.”
Supervisors said, however, that the company’s application “fails to explain how the reliability of such alternative services will be assessed and assured,” according to their approved resolution.
The town of Woodside also approved a letter opposing AT&T’s application to the CPUC. Residents expressed their concerns during a town council meeting on March 12, stating their regular issues with spotty cellular service and the need for copper landlines for emergencies.
The CPUC will announce its decision on AT&T’s application in the fall.
