Do You Want Reliable Phone Service?

AARP knows that telephone communication is a basic necessity, particularly for older people so they can maintain social contact, preserve health and safety, and gain assistance in an emergency. In fact, people age 60 and older are more likely than any other age group to have telephone service in their home.

AARP is fighting on behalf of our members and all consumers throughout the nation for basic telecommunications principles:

• Consumers must have affordable, reliable and high-quality access to essential telecommunications services in their residences, regardless of where they live.
  
• Consumers should always have the option to purchase only the services they want or need.
  
• Vigorous, true and effective competition among service providers is essential to ensuring lower prices and better-quality service for residential customers.
  
• Strong consumer protections are essential to ensuring provider competition, affordable rates and reliable service.
  

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AARP recognizes that consumers' safety and well-being depend on reliable telephone service. When residents face medical emergencies, extreme weather or other crises, they turn to their telephones to reach help.

Further, older adults with mobility impairment are among those who depend most critically on a reliable phone connection. The ability to reach emergency services reliably can be a matter of life or death. That’s why AARP has fought for more than 20 years in states across the nation for accessible, affordable and reliable telephone services.

See Also: Ensuring Accessible, Affordable, Reliable Telecommunications Services

Superstorm Sandy’s devastating impact across the Northeast in late 2012 caused us to roll up our sleeves and fight on behalf of consumers for their telecommunications service when that service was threatened.

AARP New Jersey and AARP New York work to protect reliable telephone service

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Verizon wanted to replace traditional landline service with Voice Link, a fixed-wireless home telephone service, in communities in New Jersey and New York. AARP fought back on behalf of our members and other consumers because the new service would leave telephone customers in the lurch when it comes to reliability of service, especially during prolonged power outages, and its lack of compatibility with medical devices, home security and Internet access.