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Comment by maerF0x0 | Hacker News Reader

Honestly I'm at the point where I'm like lets just kill the POTS. It makes little sense to me that it's become a sort of user ID for many things, that we have better alternatives (WebRTC, FaceTime et al) that we should push. Like where it currently says "Telephone number" i should be able to put in a URL like "webrtc://<a pseudonym for my IMEI>" (which itself could be a dropdown box for "This device" on the phone itself...)

For example, why isn't it the default that when a telemarketer calls me it's not a video call? And why can't I preview their video stream prior to answering?

I get its "impossible" to make everyone change, but i do think we should push forwards...

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> that we have better alternatives (WebRTC, FaceTime et al)

They may or may not be better. What they _aren't_ is "widely available."

Also I feel like a lot of people forget that phones still work even if the power grid is disabled. Your replacement should have the same attribute.

> why isn't it the default that when a telemarketer calls me it's not a video call?

How about when I block you I block the underlying service number and not the fake caller ID number. If a company gets blocked by too many customers it is automatically disconnected from the network.

This is _our_ network. Not the spammers. All companies use it by our leave. They wanted common carrier status and that should have a price.

phones still work even if the power grid is disabled

With the sunset of POTS and twisted-pair copper wire, this is absolutely not the case.

At the very least, service continuation now requires 1) cellular masts with reserve power and 2) a charged cellphone (most of which have at best ~24h battery life), or 3) a directly-wired or fibre-based Internet access and 4) battery-backed VOIP or SIP system.

A POTS service had its own power supply, independent of mains, with battery back-up, and frequently ran for days even during widespread grid outages.

IMEI is tied to the physical phone, Facetime is Apple-specific, idk what the webrtc option would be. I'm actually glad phone won as digital ID, not cause it's the best choice but because it could've been a lot worse.

Careful, you are one capital letter 'U' away from having the FBI, NSA, SWAT team at your door!

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