[EAS] Communication Services Down

[Larry Wood]

We have two full-time engineers in our shop providing 24 hour support for KQED-FM. KQED wants us to maintain telco central office phone lines and reimburses us the monthly basic fee. (about 38 dollars) While my line works with the power off, my co-worker's line dies when the power is off. He says that AT&T then sends a generator out to the SLIC cabinet that serves his area. (Subscriber Line Interface Circuit (SLIC)). His phone was out for about six hours starting early Saturday morning. His power is still off, but his phone is working.

Once upon a time we had the most reliable phone system in the world, now we have the most profitable for the owners.

Re: Publicly owned utilities... There are many examples of very well run public utilities. If they are adequately funded and the politics is kept out of them, they are great. But that is a very big "if" in San Francisco.

Larry Wood, CPBE
KQED-FM

From: EAS [mailto:eas-bounces at radiolists.net] On Behalf Of Bill Ruck

Headline in San Francisco Chronicle, today, Saturday October 26, 2019:

"Nearly 11,500 customers in California were out of service -- cut off
from telephone, television or internet access -- as of Friday morning