View Full Version : Getting rid of landline phone - revisited
Wasn't sure where to post this.
We still have a landline that iwe keep, essentially, JUST for enhanced 9-1-1. But it's up to about $40/mo, when it started out a year ago in the 20's range. (Have I said before how much I hate AT&T?)
Plus, the reception on it is horrible, and we can't even use it to talk on. But they would need to replace the underground cable from the road, and we are far off the road and it would dig up alot of stuff (at their expense.....haha).
So........I'm close to just getting another cell phone for the house only. We will be able to keep our landline number.
I've called the local sheriff's office and they said that they could, by GPS, find either us or a neighbor (if we dialed 9-1-1 but couldn't talk).
At&T offers this for $20/mo, but something like Basic Talk offers it for $10.00. Are these lesser known companies reliable?
Maybe I should still get the landline cable replaced, in case we ever wanted to go back to it??
I want a phone that's just for the house, even though we all have cell phones. Plus, I want to keep our old number for the house.
What do you think?
iris lilies
9-25-14, 9:17am
I have a landline because I like the reception, so much better than any cell phone. I HATE talking on a cell phone.
But if yours has bad reception, I would get rid of it in a New York minute.
I think that is a great idea. I am just waiting for the boys to go to college and I'll drop the landline/internet at home. The only people that call the house number are our moms and currently about 10 colleges, 1 military, and 1 foreign company that wants to "help me fix my computer problem" a week. So annoying (except for the moms).
Hmmm.....just read more about "Basic Talk" and it says you have to have high speed internet, broadband, DSL, etc. What does that mean? We have our own personal WiFi........would that work? But it's not always turned on. It's just for the computer.
shadowmoss
9-25-14, 10:15am
Check out Consumer Cellular. They have customer support that is native English speaking and very helpful. They are inexpensive. AT&T phones work with their SIM, so if you have an AT&T cell phone off contract you can just put their SIM in it and it will work. $10 for the SIM, taken off your first bill. $10/line, $10 for minimum minutes/month (200 I think). So, Mom and I share an account, and it runs less than $40/month for both of us. I have data included in that. If you have a month where you use the phone or data more than usual or the minimums, you just call or log into their website (even on the last day of the billing period) and up to the next level of usage. They send alerts when you get close to your limit. The coverage is the same as AT&T as it uses their towers. We've been very happy with it for 2 years now. Mom picks up cheap phones at WalMart and just changes her SIM if she needs/wants a new phone. Customer service walks her through it. She is 83. Did I mention that customer service speaks English and is wonderful?
Another thing from just this week. I used to live in Honduras. Someone from there called me, and I ended up calling them back. It routed to a US telephone number. So, I can call Internationally, and quality was same as a US call. I'll check my bill and let you know if it was extra money.
Edited to add: I had a $4 international/roaming charge for a 20 minute call to Honduras. Last time I call there from here on AT&T it was close to $20. Another good recommendation for Consumer Cellular. Oh, and no contract. You can stop and start as you want (might lose you # if you don't park it someplace else) When in Honduras I paid AT&T $200/month to keep my US number active so I could use it the few weeks a year I was home. Here it would have been $10/month. I was stupid.
ToomuchStuff
9-25-14, 10:54am
Hmmm.....just read more about "Basic Talk" and it says you have to have high speed internet, broadband, DSL, etc. What does that mean? We have our own personal WiFi........would that work? But it's not always turned on. It's just for the computer.
It means it is probably VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). So having your own network would NOT work, you must be hooked up to the internet, via a higher speed, high capacity network. There are a few of those type of devices. One that springs to mind, that a couple members of my family have looked at, is OOMA.
My brother and one of my bosses, both live out in the country, in area's where home phones, suck (out more then working). My brother was looking at using it with Google voice, but the phone company finally did some upgrades in his area (farmland started becoming subdivisions) and service improved.
When I first got my home phone, service was between $16-18. When I got rid of it, it was close to $40 and half of it was taxes. The reason I got rid of it was two months of it, would pay for my cell phone use for a year (for the amount I use) and pay phones went away (used them for work, cost me about $10 a year). If OOMA had been an option then (and I had known about it and could keep my number), I probably would have as it cost $4 a month for the 911 aspect. While modern cell phones have GPS, they tend to work off of cell towers, not satellites. What that means is when LEO's say they can find you, they have the range of that tower, that they know your in, not your exact location.
If they know your phone number, then they may have a database with it in it (some places ask people to sign up into a database), and can go to your address, via that. However don't think that if your in the woods, with a cell phone, that they can use the GPS signal, to send a rescue team, to your location, just by that, and immediately. (no rescue, because the tower range makes it a search and rescue)
With ANY cell phone service, you need a coverage map to check your area of use. Then if you can find someone with that service, see if you can test their phone in your area. I would consider looking at just a prepaid phone.
What I would LIKE, is a sim card that could be installed in a device, that I could plug into the old phone lines in the home. Then I could use any phone in the house, and if this ever came out as a product, they could add the ability to give the location it is at, in the transmission.
SteveinMN
9-25-14, 11:12am
How often would you be using the new phone? 30 minutes a month? 60? 240? I agree that a prepaid phone is one of the better options, but the choice of carrier will depend on 1) which one offers reliable coverage in your area; and 2) how much you talk. You can get the bill for that phone down under $10 a month if you don't use it much.
If you're very concerned about GPS, there are mobile GPS transponders -- basically emergency beacons -- which you could use to issue precise coordinates to whomever might need them. Check places like REI or bigger sporting goods/camping stores.
I would not bother getting the landline replaced unless you plan to use it. That copper-wire infrastructure is very expensive to maintain and you see yourself how much use you're getting out of it. Less-developed countries skipped landlines entirely in favor of cell towers and phones -- an infrastructure that's much less expensive to maintain.
Sorry if I don't quite understand some things. As far as using it, I wouldn't use it to make calls, only for 9-1-1 service and to have an answering machine........but I don't think another cell would have that capability......maybe only voice mail. Steve.......as far as "using" the phone......could I not use it, yet have it available for voice mails?
Our internet and cell phones work great out here.
I'm also wondering if I could call At&t and tell them the interference makes the phone useless, except for using it as an enhanced 9-1-1. I wonder if they would offer me something less expensive than the plan I have?
As far as a GPS responder........would I just turn that on in case of emergency? Would that be more precise than what the Sheriff's office said........that by returning my call, they could get gps to tell them either my house or the neighbors.
I have been doing so much lately, that my brain is really fried.........cleaning out the house, dealing with a new medical insurance, dealing with my cpap company....etc., etc., ..........so I'm sorry if I'm a bit dense! (Plus, I'm usually confused to begin with.). :~)
ToomuchStuff
9-25-14, 6:48pm
I would call AT&T and see what they can do. Lifeline service was all I needed/wanted, but my income meant I couldn't have it (must meet the federal poverty line guidelines for it. Now most of those are provided with a more expensive phone/service then I have/use)
Why do you need a separate cell phone just for the house? You already have a cell phone.
I guess I want it so we can keep the number we've had for 32 years, plus it will stay put in the kitchen. I guess they are silly reasons............
Haven't had a land line for some time now and haven't noticed any difference at all. Better, in fact, since I have a Bluetooth headset for my cell so I can garden with BOTH hands and chat at the same time.
When we got rid of our landline back in 2005 we transferred our home number to a cell phone. So I have the same number that I've had since 1994 and its a cell.
Well, one of my problems is that I want my old home number, but I also want my cell phone number. One I've had for 32 years, and one I've had for 11. I guess I just want too much!
awakenedsoul
9-26-14, 10:11am
I gave up my home and business A.T.&T. land lines to save money. I didn't like their customer service and they kept raising their raters. I just use my Jitterbug cell phone now. It's so much cheaper! I called 911 on it when I had my bike accident. I do have high speed internet with A.T.&T., though...
I really like the customer service with Great Call. They don't put you on hold, and they are patient if you aren't up on the latest with technology. It's a service for seniors, so I feel more comfortable asking them questions.
I guess it boils down to if you are willing to pay $20/mo or $240 a year to keep a number for sentimental reasons. My budget doesn't allow for the sort of luxury, but everyone is different
I definitely would call AT&T and plead your case, though if you've had the phone for some time and they haven't done anything that should make reception worse, they may not listen very well.
If all you want is voicemail and to keep your phone number, you have a few choices.
One is Google Voice. I try to avoid all things Google personally, but that's me. Port (move) the number you want to GV and it then will relay calls to that number to any phone you specify. I'm sure someone here can give you more details, including how (or if) it handles voicemail.
If GV will not work for you, you could consider getting a line with another carrier or a carrier MVNO. MVNOs buy huge blocks of cellular airtime and then resell to their own customers. One good Verizon MVNO is PagePlus. T-Mobile has several (though with coverage even less than T-Mobile's own prepaid network). Sprint has several, too, though if you're having trouble with an AT&T signal it is unlikely (but not impossible) that a Sprint signal will be better. AT&T has MVNOs, too, though they won't improve AT&T reception for you. In any case, prepaying on their cheapest talk/text plans could cost you from $5 to under $10 a month and you'd have voicemail. Your community may allow you to register that phone number, too, for 9-1-1 (here in St. Paul we have something called CodeRed that does just that).
'couple of thoughts....
I have a landline phone also because, due to hearing problem, it works best with my hearing aids (have problems on the cell phone). It's about $40/month of unlimited calling nationwide and I do use it quit a bit (cell phone is mostly just for texting, checking e-mail, and emergencies - not talking). I know that there are new smart phones (and also some dumb phones) that you can use with hearing aids and I may look into getting one of those and doing away with the landline.
Okay.......it looks like Consumer Cellular is good for us. (And I like their commercials.......haha).
Anyhow.....here's my question. Do we have to pay for the minutes that telemarketers call us? Or only if we answer? Does that include having an answering machine?
We never really use our landline, since the reception is so bad. But dang........we get lots of telemarketer calls, even though we are on a Do Not Call list.
Thanks!
Gardenarian
10-4-14, 1:42pm
I would get a landline if I wanted higher quality sound, but I wouldn't get it for emergencies.
If there is a big disaster (fire, flood, quake), 9-1-1 quickly gets swamped with calls. If it's not a major disaster, then there should be no problem with your cell phone access.
I had a Skype interview yesterday and the sound quality was excellent. I'm also hard of hearing, and it was better than using my landline with speaker phone (which is how I generally handle phone calls. I prefer text.) I'm going to use Skype a lot more in the future.
I meant to also ask............is there also a bunch of tax, just like there is for a landline phone?
ApatheticNoMore
10-4-14, 2:38pm
I would get a landline if I wanted higher quality sound, but I wouldn't get it for emergencies.
If there is a big disaster (fire, flood, quake), 9-1-1 quickly gets swamped with calls.
But that's assuming it's 9-1-1 one will be calling after an big disaster which would happen if someone around one was immediately injured, as opposed to the people one knows to see if they are alright, which it seems to me would be an even bigger use of phones after a disaster. And how much could one do if they weren't alright? Perhaps not much. But it's a strong psychological impetus to find out. I'm sure it's what comprises most of the phone volume after an emergency, that and just gossip "and then my cat didn't know what was happening ... and they jumped across the room and ..."
If it's not a major disaster, then there should be no problem with your cell phone access.
But that's not true, cell phones as far as calling have been brought down by earthquakes of 5 or low 6 magnitude. An earthquake of that magnitude, while not small, is NOT a major disaster. However when cell phone calling has not worked in such cases TEXTING still often works.
Teacher Terry
10-4-14, 5:21pm
Once my MIL was having a serious medical emergency & she called 911 even though she could not talk- on her landline & they saved her. That is the reason we keep it. On a cell they can find you within a mile radius but that won't help in a serious crisis.
ToomuchStuff
10-5-14, 11:58am
Okay.......it looks like Consumer Cellular is good for us. (And I like their commercials.......haha).
Anyhow.....here's my question. Do we have to pay for the minutes that telemarketers call us? Or only if we answer? Does that include having an answering machine?
We never really use our landline, since the reception is so bad. But dang........we get lots of telemarketer calls, even though we are on a Do Not Call list.
Thanks!
With a cell phone, if you don't recognize a number, don't answer it. (simple rule that helps eliminate some expensive phone services) If they leave a message, then you will know if you want to call them back. (and I believe any phone use cuts into your airtime, it does mine)
I did sign up for the no call list, which has helped (but doesn't with those you have a business relationship with) If they don't have a business relationship with you, start filling out the complaint forms online (FCC I think it is)
I also had a call from a number I didn't recognize and I googled the number and found when people call this back, it transfers them to a $100 a minute line (same thing happens if they call your landline), and that gets added to your bill.
What I did with the landline was to use an answering machine that kicks in in 2 rings (and I turned the volume down). That way, I can check it later and see if I recognize any numbers.
The only problem with not recognizing numbers is that I have 2 kids and sometimes they might use someone else's phone to call me (cause their battery ran out).......or they are traveling.
I've filed complaints with the FCC before, and nothing really happens. I think our state even has lawsuits against some of them for continuing to bug people on the "do not call" list.......
Makes you wonder why the hell these businesses continue to do this. If any, it makes me NEVER want to do business with them. And if I press the button to talk to a human, they hang up on me, as soon as I start to voice my displeasure.
What I did with the landline was to use an answering machine that kicks in in 2 rings (and I turned the volume down). That way, I can check it later and see if I recognize any numbers.
.I do this also but don't have a phone (landline) that will show the number of who called. But everyone I know is aware that I don't answer either my cell phone or my landline and all my calls go directly to voicemail. So they all know to leave a message. I get a ton of hang up calls and just assume they are from telemarketers - even though I'm on the do no call list. Because of my bad hearing I generally can't hear either phone ring so it's easiest just to let it go to voicemail and I'll call back at my leisure...or not :-)!
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.