From: heller@deepsoft.com   
      
   At Mon, 23 Jun 2014 07:42:42 -0700 (PDT) hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:   
      
   >   
   > On Monday, June 23, 2014 8:56:04 AM UTC-4, Robert Heller wrote:   
   >   
   > > Building fire alarm systems *still* use analog modems to automagically dial   
   > > 911 (actually they make a modem connection to a central dispatcher who in   
   turn   
   > > dials 911). These systems *must* be connected to a dedicated analog   
   (copper)   
   > > phone line.  In some cases, they need *two* analog phone lines, with the   
   > > second line being a backup.   
   >   
      
   > The telcos say they want to get rid of old POTS lines. (I think the charge   
   > for a 'metallic' line is very substantial these days.)   
      
   Yes indeed, *very* substantial, compared to fiber, where available.   
      
   >   
   > What will happen to all those alarm services and fax machines when analog is   
   > abandoned?   
      
   I expect fax machines will (eventually) be replaced by   
   scan-and-attach-to-email, although it might be an uphill battle in some   
   cases. For *some* reason faxes are seen as 'secure' (?) and EMail as not   
   'secure' (probably true, although it can be made secure with PGP technology,   
   along with DKIM and DMARC as well to deal with spoofing, which does exist).   
      
   I think the alarm services use a 'plug in' module for the connection and I   
   guess they will need an 'upgrade' to a new 'plug in' module eg replacing the   
   modem with a NIC-ish (Ethernet-ish) device.   
      
   >   
   >   
      
   --   
   Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933 / heller@deepsoft.com   
   Deepwoods Software        -- http://www.deepsoft.com/   
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