AT&T is now pushing for the FCC to relieve telephone carriers of the expense of maintaining copper phone lines and the POTS (plain old telephone service) that goes along with it – traditional phone service known today as “landlines”.
It’s worthwhile noting that low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities receive protection of their essential utility services, including POTS under fcc regulations. But VOIP falls under the bailiwick of broadband internet connectivity, which is not regulated by the government, so those protections would not be in place for these vulnerable individuals and families should they lose their POTS.