Forum Discussion

cocobanana's avatar
cocobanana
New Contributor
5 years ago

why require any upgrade from analog phone?

I have been looking over the comments in the phone forum about analog users being forced to upgrade or have their phones just cut off like that, etc.  This is not right or good service and it is not an upgrade, but a downgrade to those customers to prefer to keep their analog land lines.    Cox Communications is making a killing off of its customers by overcharging on internet, cable TV and both analog and digital phones used by its customers.  The prices always go up, not down.  Cox ise not regulated by a state agency so their prices can be whatever they so want to charge.  If the customers disagree, they can seek out competitors to meet their phone/etc needs.  

Surely Cox can allow those who have analog lines (for good reasons) to keep them and make for happy customers and still allow those who prefer digital phones the right to upgrade.    Why can't Cox allow both of them in use?    People have fax lines, home issues with lines in use, and your forcing and/or cutting off analog line phone and leaving people without a phone who have health issues and can't call 911 and which interfere with their home alarm/security systems--this is wrong.  What will happen ultimately is people will only take so much--and when their analog phone dies, they will go to your competition to get better service or you may have a lawsuit from those who die due to them not having access to their analog line and unable to call 911 for emergency help.  

FYI, I have had dialup for over 20 years, slow, yes, yet I can get on the internet fast enough.  Some of the web sites are going high tech and I can't get them some of them.  Some bill pays I have to go to the library for or I use my XP laptop with higher browsers on it and use free WiFi where I can if away from home.

My home computer is an XP with older chrome browser on it.  I have lots of XP games on it and I can't upgrade to a higher Windows version or I would lose all my games.  

 I also have a flip phone.  

My home land line has a regular corded phone, with a recorder connected to that and a caller ID box to that--all that goes to the plug below.   It may look complicated yet it is not.  I don't want a complicated phone that i have to program to do this or that.  I just pick it up and dial a number.   If I want to see who is calling I look at my Radio Shack caller ID box.  If they want to leave a message, my recorder picks it  up.  

I have cox cable tv and cox phone-an analog line.  All work great so far.  I do get threatening emails and letters from Cox about needing to update my phone to get great phone service, yet I already have a working phone that gives me great service which I am happy with it.   I don't care for bells and whistles.      

I seriously doubt that going digital will work with my current corded phone.   I only have one wall plug near my phone, and that is used for other things.  A digital phone modem would not even think go in that space as it already taken.  While your technician might be able to say well, it would go best here, if you have a fax in one place, and another in another room, etc. it may be impossible to make all one's electronic things work as they did when one had the analog line.

Right now, after reading all the complaints about the digital phone upgrade you are pressure and forcing people to do, I think I will just wait it out and when my analog phone dies, just look for other companies that will deal with my needs, since Cox definitely not that company any more.  

I mainly use my analog line for dial up internet, and rarely make phone calls on it, yet I like it for safety and security when the power is off.  I use my flip phone for most other calls though.     This makes me wonder--do I really need a Cox digital phone upgrade and be forced to buy a battery modem when I should be given that free?  

I don't expect Cox corporate people to change their decision on making the digital phone nonmandatory, yet it is definitely not customer friendly to force people to move to a phone that is a downgrade to their current analog phone service.

Cox just ** right now as to how they are treating their customers.  I spent 45 minutes on the phone today and got a good Cox representative who got a problem fixed--last month when I took my worn out tv remote to be switched out, I was told by the counter person my Cox Cable Box was being phased out due to old age and a newer box was needed to be had or I would turn on my TV one day and not have cable.  The guy gave me an appointment time.    The tech person came out that day and switched out the box.   The Guide feature wasn't working right.  The Tech person was able to do something to make it show the channels  I had on my service.   Otherwise, I would have had to call them out to fix that.   I got my cable bill the other day--someone switched me from Cox Economy to Contour and charged other stuff to my account, which I did not authorize--the representative person I talked to took care of that.

My point:  Some employee upgraded me without my permission, causing me to waste a lot of time on the phone dealing with it.  From all these forum comments about the unnecessary wasted digital phone upgarde, your company is wasting time and causing multiple customers undue stress just to satisfy some of your technical people who came up with the "newer digital phone update".        I do hope that the corporate will come around and realize happy customers will stay happy and stay with Cox yet if  you mess with happy analog people who have valid reasons for wanting to keep their copper line safe landline phones,, these customers will go elsewhere and Cox will lose money.      Just my opinion.

I

7 Replies

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III

    I think you're confused about analog and digital stuff.  If you've had Cox phone service for 20 years, you've been on a digital system and have been using either a phone modem or some type of voice port installed somewhere in your house to connect to the digital system.  That device is the only thing to change.

    There are 2 types of wiring systems for telephone:  a system outside your house and a system inside your house.  The system outside your house has changed 3 times since 1997 and your telephone has always worked...and will continue to work.

    There was a bygone era when the sole purpose of those telephone lines strung upon wooden poles was to only deliver phone service to your home.  That was called the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) and was an analog system.

    Beginning in 2003, Cox switched from POTS to a Digital Telephone Service.  Meaning, Cox stopped using those analog lines and combined all your services (Internet, TV, phone) onto 1 coaxial cable connected to your house.  This is a digital system.  You've been on this digital system for 16 years.

    Although the new phone service was digital, it was still a digital signal traveling on a circuit-switched system outside your house.  From a provider's point-of-view, circuit-switching is not economical because every phone call requires a dedicated circuit(s) to remain open until both parties hung up.  Although you're paying for the dedicated circuit, it's a waste of resources for 1 phone call.

    Cox is transitioning from the circuit-switching technology to a packet-switching technology, aka Voice over IP...VoIP...Cox Voice, using the same digital system you've been on for 16 years.  The only thing that's changing is how your phone calls will travel on the network outside your house.

    The system inside your house has not...and will not...change.  The system inside your house will continue to be an analog system using analog devices.  Telephone calls have been arriving at your house as a digital signal...your telephone modem then converts the digital signal to analog...your telephone modem then passes the analog signal onto your home wiring system...your home wiring system then delivers the analog signal to your Radio Shack caller ID box, recorder and regular corded phone.  None of this will change.

    There are no "digital" telephones.  There are analog telephones with digital features, such as answering machines with digital storage...cordless handsets with digital transmissions...and call-blockers with some type of binary logic, but they all will still use analog telephone signals from your wall jacks.  All subscribers of telephone service use analog phones.  There are IP Phones, but these don't connect to traditional phone jacks (RJ11)...nor use a modem because all the hardware and software to make calls is inside the phone..

    Your phone service is not going digital.  It's been digital.  Whatever equipment you're using now, you will continue to use.  Nothing will die.

    • cocobanana's avatar
      cocobanana
      New Contributor

      If I have been wrong in my thinking, I apologize.   So if I allow Cox technician to come on my property and they switch out the outside box and they also install a phone modem in the house somewhere (all my plugs are full so I don't know where they will put it) , that I will be able to use the phone and continue my dialup service without any service issues popping up as I have all these years? You swear by it?

      • CarolLM's avatar
        CarolLM
        Former Moderator
        Hi there, I certainly understand your reluctance to change equipment that's working just fine because I'm just like you; however, the changes and upgrades in technology demands that Cox updates their network and equipment to maintain continued operating efficiency. So as a Cox employee I too had to swap out my perfectly fine working equipment that's outdated and being phased out and no longer supported. Based on how you've explained your set-up at home when our Tech comes to swap out our old and install the new telephone equipment it's very IMPORTANT that you tell them you want to keep all of your telephone wall jacks activated. To do that the Tech will need clear access to all of your wall phone jacks (and they don't move furniture). Feel free to ask the Tech any questions you may have and I'm sure they'll answer them. As you can see here there's plenty of support to answer all of your questions, and our Technical Support Team's available 24/7 to schedule that appointment for you. We look to receive your call real soon! -Carol
  • zun's avatar
    zun
    New Contributor

    I have been forced to upgrade cause my phone was shut off and had to have someone come out and do the switch. Now I have lost the ONLY feature I used

    Selective Call Acceptance

    . So it was a downgrade cause COX no longer supports it and I get sales call I now have to reject I was set just fine before and now I have to go through this **. So I will start looking around if I'm going to get this deal I rather feel like I'm not paying for what I'm not getting at a better price.