the land line phone

[indigo_rose99]

I have watched many of my friends turn off their land lines in the past 10 years. Why keep them?

When we both got cell phones with long distance, I called our land line company and asked for no long distance. They refused. They reluctantly admitted that I could go on a pay-as-you-go plan. Thanks, I took that. At the same time, I cut down our local phone service from unlimited to a measly 30 local phone calls a month. The sales person ranted at me about overage charges because I undoubtedly call locally all the time. Evidently I NEVER make local calls. That was a pressure sales scam. I was thrilled with the $15/month land line phone bill (including all taxes and fees).

A few years ago, I brought up with T the idea of canceling our land line entirely. He was and is totally against it. He wants to keep the number. So our elderly relatives can find us.

We are now running significantly low on elderly relatives. In spite of this, T still wants to keep the number. Not that it has to be hardwired, just the number.

A few years ago, the fees for my measly 30 local calls a month went up. Then again. Then again. Including fees, the rate is now $30/month.

Today I signed up for one of those internet phone services. I am pretty sure I now get 300 US/Canada phone calls a month. 300! Not that I will call, but it is nice to be able to. And it looks like the monthly rate, including all taxes and fees, will be about $17.50/month.

This would be why the big phone companies are having so many problems. They inflate the rates for the measliest service, their customer service is abysmal (2 hours on hold trying to understand why they are raising my rate AGAIN?!) and they expect us to just take it?!

Comments

[reedrover]

While I agree that the phone companies are obnoxious at best, I'm completely against giving up my land line. Not the number, the line.
http://reedrover.livejournal.com/1216543.html

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

Oh, good points. I mostly keep one because I still often find that I hate the connection on cell phones. Admittedly, that could be because people mostly call me when they're moving around (driving home from Tennessee trying not to fall asleep, wandering around a big box store or mall, etc.).

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

Yours was one of the viewpoints I thought about. I see your points, but I have a different situation.

I live in the suburbs, sounded closely by other houses. Lots of people. I can probably shout for help simply by walking outside my front door.

Our cell phones get excellent service inside the house. Even if the electricity goes out, I keep a charged spare battery for my phone. And I am always aware of how low the phone is (*still missing the 1 month charge of the Palm Vx...*). Our electricity, in the many years we have lived here, has never gone out for more than a few hours.

In many ways I would prefer to get rid of the land line entirely. 9 out of 10 calls on it are spam. The Republican and Democratic parties STILL call us at all hours of the day and night. Requests for donations no matter how many times I ask them to take us off the list. And if the local newspaper calls again, I AM filing that harassment charge against them. Still, they ALWAYS call when I am in the bathroom, elbow deep in something sticky in the kitchen, or JUST falling asleep. And my gut wants to answer the phone, no matter how much I know it is a waste of my time. Going to the cheaper VOIP won't help with any of these. *sigh*

[reedrover]

You have listed excellent reasons to lose the land line, and I can *really* appreciate the issue of junk-calls. I've learned to tone down my "must answer!" reflex to a "must check caller ID!" reflex, and that has saved me a lot of aggravation.

I'm still paranoid about 911-locators, regardless of if you can walk outside and yell for help. If you are having a stroke and can only hit "dial," that cell call won't do you much good.

There is one other thing to consider... What is your tolerance for loss of contact during a natural disaster? When VA had an earthquake last summer, no one could get a call through on cell phones because the towers were overloaded. The land-line phones were still operating normally, though, and connecting calls.

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

Natural disasters.... Hmmm... Good point. And my first thought is to think of my mother.

She called 911 from her landline as she lay dying in the field/garden next to my parent's house. It was a wireless that she carried around on her wheelchair. They answered and decided (in spite of "I think I'm dying." from her) it was not an emergency. They took 11 minutes (non emergency speed) to make it to my parent's house. They wandered around inside the house, did not find her, and closed the open front door.

Was she dead or brain-dead before they reached the house? Maybe. Maybe not.

But my faith in 911's ability to answer, judge my situation, respond appropriately, and save me is... low. Very very very low.

So, yes. Having a land line during a natural disaster would probably be a good thing. But I personally think that it would make no difference in the outcome to me or mine.

*sigh* I hadn't actually thought this through until you brought it up. I'm trying to decide if I should thank you... *rueful smile*

[reedrover]

::sad sigh:: Wow. That hurts me even at this remove. What idiots.

The night I moved into my husband's house, one of my friends collapsed with a grand mal seizure during the post-move celebration. The 911 response moved briskly, but still took 15 minutes to get to the house. (The sherriff, a retired M.D., also responded "just in case.") That 15 minutes was after a brief, concise phone call in which the operator *verified* my information from the switchboard - it was all correct - and asked me a couple of useful questions regarding the person's age and status.

VOIP

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

We've got a VOIP line, too. Remember the days when a few international calls would break the bank? Now it's insanely cheap to call overseas, too, with VOIP anyway. But the habit of not calling internationally sticks hard. Might need to change that and get in better touch with friends abroad.

Re: VOIP

[livingdeb.livejournal.com]

My grandmother could never get over her habit of making long distance calls as brief as possible.

Re: VOIP

[fraeuleinchen.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting, and doesn't surprise me. Even I think that I'm still in the habit of making calls short-ish. But now it's because cell phone reception (esp. cell to cell) just sucks. Such lag. And because I get antsy...

[tiger-stripes.livejournal.com]

Not sure if this helps: POTS are regulated where VOIP is not. Meaning that phone companies have to pay taxes and follow very specific rules for voice networks that they don't for data networks. Thus, the push for VOIP.

We still have our POTS landline. I use it for work all the time (long distance is covered), we have crappy cell signal in the house, and POTS uses a local 911 switch where VOIP and cell phones are national.

Customer support and service is non-existent these days.

Phone companies (VOIP, POTS, cell) suck, but cable companies swallow. Having much better luck with AT&T than Comcast.

[reedrover]

POTS uses a local 911 switch

I totally, completely, agree with this reason.

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

Vonage made me fill out several forms to ensure that my 911 calls from my home number will direct them to my correct house. Having had to give address and directions using a landline on my previous 911 calls... I'm not terribly worried about having VOIP slowing things down. Their process is so INCREDIBLY SLOW anyway...

I've stood their and listened to the multiple rings before it is answered (I could be dying!)... Then an automated voice asks what city (the intruder could have found me by now!)... Then another automated voice asking if I want police or fire... (Could the fire have choked while I was waiting for them to get around to a human interaction?! Probably.) Then it rings for about 30 more seconds.... And finally someone asks me for my name.

Seriously, for something that is set up for EMERGENCIES, actually calling 911 is only slightly faster than calling for tech support on my computer.

I cannot imagine that having VOIP will really slow that process down significantly.

[reedrover]

::sad face::

The one advantage of being in the country is that I get someone in half a ring. The disadvantage - it's a 15-minute minimum response time to my house from the nearest rescue squad base.

[indigo-rose99.livejournal.com]

POTS = plain old telephone service?