Turn on 5G, turn off old landlines: FCC plans future of phone networks

Two votes taken by the Federal Communications Commission today could have big implications for the transition to faster mobile networks and the discontinuance of old landline networks.

The two votes aren’t directly related, but they each prepare for a future that could rely more on wireless technologies for voice and Internet service. In one item, the FCC voted to open up high-frequency spectrum to help carriers create 5G networks that would be faster than existing 4G ones.