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For the past couple years, there has been a discussion in my household over whether it is time to ditch the landline or if we should keep it around a little bit longer, even though there are more robocalls to the phone than calls from actual people.

The idea is to ditch the landline for VoIP, a move that would take our family number and route it to one or more cell phones on the family plan. All have agreed that this makes sense, except for one big stopper that keeps stalling the migration: emergency services.

Half my family doesn’t mind that we lose phone service when the power goes out. After all, we have cell phones. But the other half (okay, actually just one person) is critically concerned that if the power goes out and cell towers also do not have power, we’ll be without phone since VoIP is not self-powered like phones that use the traditional POTS system.

This is basically a micro version of the larger issue that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC (News - Alert)) and telephone operators are having as the industry considers moving away from POTS to an all-IP infrastructure as soon as 2020. Will people care that VoIP is not self-powered, which causes trouble potentially if cell towers also go down? Or does it matter?

Nobody knows yet how the public feels on these issues, at least not in practice.

That’s why the FCC has announced that it will start voluntary TDM to IP experiments in anticipation of a move to an all-IP infrastructure.

The FCC will accept applications for carrier experiments until February 20, solicit comments until March 31, and a decision on whether to proceed with these experiments will be completed at the May 15 FCC meeting, according Telecom Law Monitor.

The Commission is looking for five types of experiments as it evaluates the transition to IP for the industry at large.

First, there are service-based experiments that test the outcome of providing  IP-based alternatives to existing services in discrete geographic areas or situations.

Second, the FCC wants targeted experiments and cooperative research that explore the impact on specific values, including universal access and competition.

Third, the FCC wants experiments that look at the effect of telephone numbering in an all-IP world.

Finally, the FCC also is interested in seeing experiments that focus on how to deliver robust broadband to rural areas so they are not left out in the cold, as well as on IP-based technologies for people with disabilities.

Even though carriers, especially AT&T (News - Alert), would like the FCC to move more quickly on the transition, the call by the FCC for voluntary experiments is a step in the right direction. If the industry wants to move away from TDM without retaining legacy rules such as universal access, these tests are necessary.

That’s because right now far too much of the discussion is based on speculation and fear. Caution is advisable, but tests are good for the industry and good for the topic in general because they help provide concrete examples for questions that currently plague any discussion about making the transition.