Do You Still Have a Landline? - Comments Page 1

Bob,
"I can’t recommend Vonage any more." - I'm trying to be sure of your meaning. I *think* it means you no longer recommend Vonage. But it could also mean you recommend them so highly, you can't recommend them any more than you do (as in, "I couldn't care less").
I'd infer from the paragraph that you mean the former, but you don't have specific criticisms (nor compliments) of your own, only a reference to complaints of others, and a mention of a new CEO (and his priorities).
May I suggest you clarify the sentence?
(I have no stake in any mentioned companies; I'm looking only for clarity. I do own an Obi - not mentioned in the article - and have been pleased with it, overall.)
Thanks very much,
Mark

Bob you omitted MagicJack, by far cheaper than those you mentioned. I think I paid ~$100 for 5 (FIVE) years of service. I have used MJ for 3+ years with no major issues save a fried adaptor (power surge)and a failed power supply - both replaced quickly and for free. I do however keep a cell phone around for emergency backup.

I'm glad to see the last paragraph. Here in the UK it's called "life line" and is a prerequisite to provide a land line. It must/should work in the event of a power outage (there may be a time limit). And it does tie the location. We also have poor mobile reception so have been provided with a femtocell that routes calls over the broadband. So in the event of a power outage we would loose that and may not have mobile service, and we don't live out in the sticks either.

I don't have a landline. We use VOIP. Besides the fact that I don't like cell phones and view them as something of use only when absolutely necessary, I am actually starting to grow nostalgic over landline phones. Maybe it's because I'm getting older. I know they have their faults, but the simplicity of them, coupled with the fact that landlines were the only phones working during Hurricane Sandy, does make me sometimes yearn for the good ol' days. Wonder if anyone else feels this way.

I still - reluctantly - have the same landline and number I have used since 1982. That number is on countless business cards and sticky tags floating around - I run my own PC repair and tech services shop, and need to be accessible to both old customers and "referred" people I have never heard of.

Unfortunately, 75% of the calls I receive on it are from scammers, fundraisers, and telemarketers - and I don't want these people to be calling on my (private) cell phone.

So I keep the landline as my "public face" and hope there will someday be a solution I can live with. I keep hearing about "virtual" portable answering services, but have never tracked down one that actually seems to work.

I have Vonage (World Plus) for many years and am very happy with it. I am a heavy international caller and have unlimited calling to landlines in over 60 countries + 250 minutes to mobile phones in over 40 countries. On top of it Vonage offers for free a smartphone app (Extentions) for 2 phones which allows me and my wife to call anybody for free from any country we are traveling to (using Wi-Fi or a local SIM card with data). The price is very reasonable for me. I admit, it is not cheap for people who only call the US and Canada.

Bob, thank you VERY much for all the very interesting postings, I read them all. I learned a lot from you!!

If you have no land line and lose power to your area, you have no phone service.With a land line you will still have service as the phone companies use batteries to keep the lines up, at least in our area.

We still have a landline and intend to keep it.We have an excellent provider. We do have a very simple cell phone that is used for when we travel.
Because of business we needed the landline and the name in the phone book so people could contact us.

What is the difference between these services and MagicJack and NetTalk? Which is better? I have used MagicJack for several years, but the quality of calls is no longer good. I am looking to change to another service.

I cannot believe there was no mention of magicJack in the "VoIP on a Budget" section. Reliability and voice quality have improved considerably since the initial roll-out, even when plugged into a computer instead of a router. Costs have risen a bit but it is still an excellent deal. I use it for both home and business purposes and have no problems with it at all. Many excellent features are included. There is even a mobile app for it. I think it should have been mentioned at least.

Hi Bob,
Thanks for the article on VOIP. I use a OBI box, a phone number from Google Voice, and a phone from OfficeMax. It works really good and is cheap and reliable.

No land line here. We have been essentially forced to change to VOIP primarily for cost. I was aware of the dangers involved in being connected to the world by the internet and cell phones. When the power goes out so does all communication. Glad to hear of an alternative.

Bob, our land line is about $25//mo with nulimited calls, caller ID, etc.

I can't remember when we paid $60.

We still have a landline because we live in a rural area where cell coverage without using a somewhat less that reliable internet connection could mean no connection to the outside world for days.
Other than satellite internet, our only other choice is Wi-Fi and if the AC power fails, we would be left with no communications.
Landline charges are just north of $50/month, but how much is it worth to be able to access emergency services in a time of need.
One of our friends who cut the phone cord found out this past winter when a bad storm cut power to their Wi-Fi (the same service we use) and had no phone service for 10 days.

We live "out", cell service is better,but still not something we want to depend upon. We have Dish, so that signal goes away with oh, rain, bright sun and other issues, that also seems a bit better but until it is dependable in all situations, the land line stays.

Hey Bob,

You missed covering the Obihai phone system. I just installed model Obi200 that costs under $50. It's internet based and if connected through GoogleTalk there is no additional cost at all. So it looks like the least expensive system of all.

Thanks.

As a satellite internet user, I can not use VOIP, my latency is ≈750ms. Remember the dead air when listening to the radio comms with the astronauts?

I still have my landline to accommodate the numerous "windows technical" idiots from india who insist I'm sending errors to the windows servers. Oh and almost forgot the many robocallers, telemarketers and political fools.

Very helpful article. A really nice addition to this would be to discuss bandwidth requirements of VOIP and how that effects other services we might have. For instance, how does the addition of a VOIP call affect your internet service if you are surfing? Will you be able to do Netflix and VOIP at the same time? How about a conference call, searching the internet for info while on the call, while your family is watching Netflix?

A discussion like that is a little too in-depth for this page, but linking to it would be helpful. For many people, it is a negligible issue. But in rural areas, it is important. E.g. the cable internet my business has is supposed to give us 6 MBps down and 1 up. That's pitiful, but it is rural America. What we can depend on is from 3-5 down and .7 up. That is less than the minimum for 10 calls, and far less than the recommended. But it might be okay for a family. I get that info from the comments section of http://rankinfile.com/voip-systems-for-small-business.html

I'm 65. Switched to Ooma about 3 years ago and have never regretted it. Fees are about $3.50/mo., but I also have the Premier Service Plan you mention so I can use Google Voice with it as well as to get a second line so that we can receive another phone call at the same time or to conference in two parties. Was paying Verizon over $35/mo. for my old landline. Ooma has been worry free and maintenance free.