On Sunday, July 6, 2014 4:04:09 PM UTC-4, Robert Heller wrote:   
      
   > ... And the 50 or so miles of copper is basically crap. Most of it is worn   
   out and overdue for replacement.   
      
   When say the "copper is worn out", do you actually mean the insulation of each   
   wire and the sheath of the cable itself?  I would think the copper itself   
   doesn't wear.   
      
   The telephone cable serving our row houses was attached to the back wall, with   
   periodic junction units that had the drops to each individual house.    
   Originally it was in a lead pipe.  I remember going by about when the place   
   was about 40 years old (circa    
   1988) and noticed the cable was replaced by a hard rubber tubing.  So, I   
   presume the cables had a finite life and were periodically replaced, though   
   after a long period of time.   
      
      
   >(Verizon is NOT going to replace it, per corp. policy).    
      
   Perhaps some day the various regulatory authorities will wake up and see the   
   abuses by the various carriers.  Utility regulation was created for very good   
   reasons, and the service quality problems and high costs--the reasons   
   regulation was applied in the    
   first place--have returned much as they were like in the old days.   
      
   It amazes me that some folks think the present environment of consumer abuse   
   is superior.   
      
   --- SoupGate/W32 v1.03   
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