I have had FIOS salesguys come by twice. They have gone as far as telling me that the copper plant is deteriorating and will not be maintained, and that come 2/2009 my phones will stop working unless I convert to digital :-) According to them, it is better for each customer to have the battery backup (not maintained) in the ONT than for them to maintain one at the CO... They are always shocked when I tell them that I want to keep my copper pair and get mad when I kick them out.
Really? My neighborhood copper network stopped working like 5 years ago, but Verizon still hasn't replaced it. At one point, we realized we hadn't gotten any telemarketing calls in a while (normally got 1-2 a day even with the no-call list), and came to find out that our phone had been down for a week and we hadn't even noticed. And it was NICE! Screw paying $30/month so telemarketers can bother us, we're a cell-phone only family, now. And they do work when the power is out, because cell towers use GENERATORS! Though, come to think of it, the fuel tanks aren't all that large for those, either...
I can get internet through my cell phone, and make VOIP phone calls (or VTCs) through my computer. Nice to have backups
