[GTALUG] Landline and Bell revisited.

[James Knott]

On 2023-09-07 12:35, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
>
>
>     This is about what Bell is not providing, even though other
>     companies do. However, this is current technology, not obsolete,
>     which Karen seems to need.
>
>
> I call shenanigans on that perspective.
>
> Given the nature of our group it is natural that some here will see 
> the issue as merely one of choice and pace of technology, but IMO it 
> must be seen as a broader issue of problem-solving. If Karen's 
> accessibility needs require analog service in 2023, then that service 
> is not obsolete merely because it's convenient for Bell to declare it 
> so. In making a transition to digital it is Bell's responsibility to 
> either:
>
>   * provide a complete working solution to Karen's needs that can be
>     accomplished purely digitally
>   * use whatever means required internally to maintain (what is seen
>     in her home as) analog service
>
> Given its regulated monopoly in last-mile connectivity, the onus is on 
> Bell to provide a solution to the problem that it caused.

And if Bell is no longer able to provide the service she wants. When I 
started in telecom, I was a bench tech and spent my days overhauling 
Teletype machines.  Suppose Karen needed a Teletype machine?  She will 
not find anyone able to provide that service, as it's been obsolete for 
a long time.  I chose that example, because deaf people would often use 
Teletypes to communicate, using the old 300 baud modems.  Teletype 
machines are long gone and dial up modems aren't used much these days.  
So how would anyone get that service? They wouldn't.  Technology has 
moved on and there are now better ways for blind people to communicate.

Getting back to phones, in electrical engineering there's something 
called transfer function.  With this, you assume you have a black box 
and measure the input vs output and compare things like level, frequency 
response, distortion and more.  If 2 black boxes produce identical 
response, they will sound identical, regardless of what they're made 
with (this is a concept that audiofools have a problem with).  In an 
earlier message, I discussed a bit about the technology and CODECs, 
specifically the G.711 CODEC.  If 2 devices have that CODEC, they should 
sound identical.  This leads me to what I've been struggling with all 
along.  That is what is she hearing that causes the problem?

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