What Use Is This Phone?

Last night I attended a meeting held at the Town House. Dover’s state representative, Denise Garlick was presenting her “Report of the Community.” I am glad I went to the meeting because Rep. Garlick was informative about what she had been doing for the past year, and also about what important issues are before the state legislature this year.

I had a question that I wanted to ask, but being the shy and retiring sort, I couldn’t summon up the fortitude to ask it during the open question and answer period. I did, however, ask it of one of Garlick’s aides after the meeting, and he said he would look into the matter.

My question is this: during the Oct. 29 snowstorm, I, like many people, lost the use of my phone service. I found this troubling because for more than half a century I have had phone service, a landline phone, that has functioned during all kinds of bad weather when the rest of the power was out. Yet, here we were, without power, and without phone.

In their Verizon Fios Digital Terms of Service, Verizon says the following:

“2b) Loss of Service Due to Power Failure.  The Service includes a battery back-up that provides power for your Service for up to eight hours in the event of a commercial power outage. After the battery is exhausted, the Service (including 911) will not function until power is restored.”

Since we were without power for several days, we were left with no ability to use 911. Our cell phones could not be recharged without leaving home. If this snowstorm had occurred last year, when we were really stuck inside, with no ability to get out to some place to recharge our cell phones, we would have been at home, unable to summon help during an emergency.

Why does the state permit the wiring up of so many customers to a phone service that will not allow you to call 911 during an emergency when the power has been out for a long time? We have lost the ability to do something that we had been able to do. I don’t see this as an improvement over the old phone service over copper wires. For elders, and others with limited ability to get around, having access to 911 is important – even a matter of life and death.

What can be done to change this situation?