Do You Still Need A Landline? - Comments Page 3

@JamesinVictoria

No need for google, just search right here on Ask Bob for "free internet faxing" and you'll link to his fine article.

We live in an area that is still quite rural. We get some intense storms here where we have lost our power, but our land line phone has still been available. Our land line service has always been really dependable. We don't intend to give it up.

Great article. Everyone has to evaluate and act on their own well thought out needs, expectations and concerns with land line alternatives.

I bought a MagicJack Plus and installed it. We evaluated it for about two months before deciding to pull the plug on the Verizon land line. I then had our number ported to the MJP and installed it in a power slot on my UPS. This will give me 20 minutes to act if needed during a power disruption event. I also connected the MJP to our original land line wiring. I have a wired phone, wireless console with three wireless remotes and a printer/fax machine hooked to the household wiring. You would never know that we don't have a traditional land line.

I thought hard about the reliability factor then decided that our two cell phones would suffice in an emergency. We could recharge them in our car if need be.

In our area all land lines are above ground. In the case of a weather or other natural disaster occurring it's highly unlikely that the land line system would survive intact.

Anyway.... Dropping the land line saved us $540/yr and the MJP is costing us $50/yr saving us $490/yr.

We're pleased and we're not looking back.

You need one here- everything is either cable or satellite, and in the Plains storms-aplenty we get here, the power and cell towers go down, and if you have Cable phone /Internet/TV, you lose it all. I keep my ATT basic landline so I can at least call out for help.

I cancelled both my home line and my home-office line with AT&T nine months ago to switch to a high-end VOIP service with lots of bells and whistles. It doesn't work with analog phones, however, so I had to buy a $200+ Polycom phone. Plus I had to get a radio transmitter for my security system. My wife wants a phone by her bed, so I had to buy an expensive VOIP-to-Analog adapter, plus a cordless phone set to sit next to my modem and router.

But poor quality VOIP service, plus bells and whistles that frequently fail, have led me to cancel that. I was going to go with phone service from my cable company for both lines, but reading this article and comments, I've decided to get a bare-bones "lifeline" service from AT&T for the home line (which we rarely use, thanks to cell phones). This will be used for the security system and during power outages.

A cable phone, with bells and whistles, should work for the business phone.

Thanks for helping me clarify my decision about keeping a land line.

I have both a landline and a cell phone, but only use the cell phone for emergencies and when I'm on the road. One of my frustrations about cell phones is how to look up a phone number. Cell phone numbers are not listed with information, phone books or Anywho.

We cut the cord!

My husband is a Fireman. We were very concerned about being able to reach Emergency Services especially since we are distanced from them. He was fairly certain that dialing Emergency Services would still work on a phone that had disconnected service but was still plugged in. We tested it, and yes, we can still reach emergency services on our old landline phones. Since they are for emergencies only we have them labeled and I have even entertained the idea of getting red phones just for fun.

We have found MagicJack to be helpful to reach our teens at home in situations when they have let their cells run down or can't hear them. It is nice to have a phones that will ring in the entire house.

I use my cell phone for personal calls only, I will not give out my cell phone to companies, for the main reason, they will call just to leave garbage on my phone, I have to pay for them to try and sell me something, I don't think so, that phone is for my convenience not theirs.

During Hurrican Sandy, we were without power for nearly 2 weeks. We are connected by Verizon FIOS as a landline. At first, the battery power kicks in, and you think you are OK. Then after a few hours, the battery runs out of power, and you are helpless. In case of emergency, there is a button, on the backup battery, that will give you about 1 hour of EMERGENCY power. After that you are dead. Thanks to a power inverter, and our cell phone, we could still have some communication with the outside world. Since that occurrance,I dropped FIOS as my landline provider, and went with cell phones.
BTW:I understand cable phones have the same limitation, although I'm not 100% sure.

I spent 18 years as a EMD in the Fire Department taking Ems and Fire Calls as well as dispatching all three. Even when we went to computers and the phone numberand address of course would not show.
Calls to 911 went to the Police Call Center and werte routed to us if FD related.

The Police dispatcher may have gotten the address and phone number, but were not allowed to give it to us. They first had to call a Supervisor who then had to call our supervisor and contact the Carrier, which coud take minutes to hoursb= because te carrier needed a Supervisor also. BS about privacy. Cell Phone and land line calls show now, but MJack and other calls made through a computer do not in many cases. Many of those numbers use a national AC and number.

I am late in responding to this; a lot of my time is spend in reading all that Bob sends to me for free. I thank him for that.
One year ago I went with an alternative service for $30.00 a year. It worked so well that I dumped the land line.
The "line item" costs for my land line make me sick. What is a "universal line fee"? Yes, even their billing supervisor did not know. The line items totaled a lot of money times 12. All were some form of a taxation. I am feeding the monster more than my fair share already, and any way I can stop doing that I will.

The "universal line fee" is a worldwide surcharge from the
Yew Nine-ed Nayshuns that has been imposedon every phone account. As long as you have a phone, you will PAY the UN a surcharge. The money is divved up by the international criminals who YOU and the rest of the world.
Have a happy life, slave.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Not true. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Service_Fund