Land Line Telephone

[billwill]

Anybody still have an old land line telephone? I cancelled mine land line, cannot see paying for a phone that nobody calls on except telemarketers.

It is a weird feeling not having a regular phone after all these years! But now got more money for 'hobbies'.

 

[steveno]

I got rid of my land line this month. the only thing I had a concern was with a 911 call. the sheriff said with enhanced 911 they can still locate a 911 call so that just sealed the deal. for about the last year I only had local call only so getting rid of the land line saves me another $30 a month.

 

[timn8er]

It's ironic that you posted this today.I got my bill for my AT&T home phone & DSL & it had gone up to ninety seven dollars! I was a little excited about it, so I called them immediately. After wandering around in their phone tree for twenty minutes, I got a human(?)on the phone. She couldn't help me with any price cuts, so I told her to cancel my land line. She transferred me to someone that could. While we were talking I told the lady that I wouldn't be cancelling if they could help me on the cost. We found some services to cut that I don't use, & now I'm paying half of what I was paying before they raised it, & I'm pretty happy with that!

 

[Texas Star]

I have a cell phone now, but kept the landline, and am glad that I did. In a storm, it still works, even with the lights out.

And if I'm placed on hold for a long time, or just have a long conversation, I don't have to worry about my battery dying. Sometimes, my son calls and talks two or more hours.

My cell phone is mainly for emergencies away from home or to call a taxi, etc. It costs me $2.00 a day to make calls from it and it goes through a $25 refill card pretty quickly. (ATT&T Go Phone)

I don't use my cell phone to store photos or for a mini computer, camera, or GPS. Some do, inc. the rest of my relatives. I don't do well on touch phones, probably due to peripheral neuropathy, which affects my touchy-feely abilities. My Go Phone has conventional call buttons to press to make a call. I don't (so far) "text." If I need to talk to someone, I call them; I don't sit around pushing buttons. I think people who do that while driving are a public menace.

I think it has a camera function. I need to get out the manual and see how to use it. My brother's fancy phone takes really good pics, so much so that he seldom uses his camera now. Has both macro and tele lens functions. Remarkable.

But I still favor the landline for clear reception and reliability without paying a daily use rate. But check your A&T bill carefully and be sure they aren't charging you for anything you don't need or want. They're awful to deal with and are VERY sales oriented.

 

[Wee Hooker]

It kills me to pay Vonage $30+/month for something we use 10 min a week but cell phone coverage in my town is poor. Just about non existent at my house itself. We want to keep something for emergencies ( we have a handicapped child) so I've been investigating Magic Jack and Ooma.
Still, we've talked about it, it would feel weird not to have something in teh house that has been a part of our life since we were born.

 

[mkk41]

Nope , not for at least 10yrs. Simple cell phone only. Comcast keeps bugging me to get their internet phone service , but I don't need it.

 

[jaykellogg]

I still have my land line, voice over IP. It is part of my cable/internet package and costs $30/month and includes free long distance. It goes out when the power goes off (modem). My cell coverage at the house is poor. That is the only reason I keep the land line.

 

[mcoe74]

I had a conversation on about dropping the land line earlier today. If I can find a different high-speed internet provider that services my area, out the land line goes.

 

[truckemup97]

I still have a landline, but I'm not sure why. The only people who call it are people we don't want to talk to. Maybe that's why we keep it. When you are forced to give out a phone number, give 'em one that will never be answered, not your cell #. Wait a minute, someone in Atwater, CA is calling. I can see it on the Caller ID on the TV. I don't think I know anyone in Atwater, CA, so I probably won't even listen to the message.

 

[therevjay]

I have a cell phone now, but kept the landline, and am glad that I did. In a storm, it still works, even with the lights out.

And if I'm placed on hold for a long time, or just have a long conversation, I don't have to worry about my battery dying. Sometimes, my son calls and talks two or more hours.

My cell phone is mainly for emergencies away from home or to call a taxi, etc. It costs me $2.00 a day to make calls from it and it goes through a $25 refill card pretty quickly. (ATT&T Go Phone)

I don't use my cell phone to store photos or for a mini computer, camera, or GPS. Some do, inc. the rest of my relatives. I don't do well on touch phones, probably due to peripheral neuropathy, which affects my touchy-feely abilities. My Go Phone has conventional call buttons to press to make a call. I don't (so far) "text." If I need to talk to someone, I call them; I don't sit around pushing buttons. I think people who do that while driving are a public menace.

I think it has a camera function. I need to get out the manual and see how to use it. My brother's fancy phone takes really good pics, so much so that he seldom uses his camera now. Has both macro and tele lens functions. Remarkable.

But I still favor the landline for clear reception and reliability without paying a daily use rate. But check your A&T bill carefully and be sure they aren't charging you for anything you don't need or want. They're awful to deal with and are VERY sales oriented.

I agree 100%. I reached this conclusion after my cell battery died while talking to a tech in Pakistan who was trying to cure my computers mental illness.

 

[sipowicz]

I dumped mine last month for Magic jack....works great with my modem...love getting voice mail emails that I could also listen to on my cell phone....for under 200 bucks for 5 years of service (including cost of magic jack) I think I did ok. And I can hook the phone line from the internet into my wall jack and all my other phones work as usual...

 

[P&R Fan]

I am a business owner and my office is in my home. I have my business phone in the house but I rarely use it. I use an answering service 24/7, so they answer all incoming calls and put them through to my cell. Only time I make a call on my business phone is when I want to contact a business and not let them get my cell number on caller ID.
We used to have a personal land line, but about 5 years ago there was a thunderstorm. Missus P&R Fan always insists on unplugging everything during a storm, and she hollered at me to do so. I got up from watching a baseball game and started unplugging stuff. Unfortunately left the main TV on. Lightning hit the house and fried it. It also fried our cordless phone for our personal land line.
I figured that was God telling us we didn't need it, so we cancelled it. Got a new TV, though. God didn't say anything about that.

We get along fine with just our cell phones. US Cellular has great service.
Jim

 

[snowman]

I still have a land line and probably always will. I virtually never receive calls on my cell phone, and rarely call anyone else on it. I pay only for minutes used, so often go for lengthy periods of time not having to pay anything for cell use. It's basically for emergencies or urgent calls only. This offsets the cost of the land line, which I agree is high.

I thoroughly understand why many cancel their land lines. One downside to that, though, is that there is no cell phone directory for people I may, on rare occasions, need or want to contact who have no land line. This makes it difficult for me.

Regards,
Andy

 

[Henry O]

Still have the landline as well. When the last of the parents have departed this life we will rethink it. But right now, they know the number, it rings loud, and no issues with cell phone connectivity.

The phone hardly rings but when it does, I almost know for sure who is calling and ask the wife to go talk with her mother.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I don't have a telephone landline, but I have a landline (cable) coming into the house for Internet. I can call anyone I want local or long distance for free using Google with my computer. Seems like a lot of folks pay extra for something that they already have.

 

[shouldazagged]

Keeping my land line. My cell phone is for emergencies when I'm away from home, period. Needless to say, it isn't smart. Maybe I'm not either, but I've had cell phones suddenly become null and void on me, at least once at an awkward time. And speaking of awkward, I have been known on several occasions to fall into water. With my cell phone.

 

[PlaytheAces]

We still have a land line. With whatever bundling deal we have, it runs $10 a month. That's like 15% of our cell bill for the same thing. No doubt in my mind which is the better deal.

The main reason my wife and I carry cell phones is for use in an emergency situation.

I've never been fond of cell phones. They drop calls and aren't nearly as clear as a land line. We don't need to text, constantly check emails, or surf using a smart phone. We have home and work computers for that, and laptops and notebooks for travel. So for us a cell is strictly for making calls, and the only real benefit they offer to us is the portability factor.

Personally if I'm making a call, I'd rather be home at my desk, kicked back, and using the land line. I like being comfy and able to hear / understand the conversation. And I've found that a conventional phone receiver seems to fit my face better than a square piece of plastic.

 

[David Armstrong]

Like some others I have a landline. During some storms down here I've been the only person with phone service as all the cells were not working. My parents reported the same thing following the recent major tornado near OKC. For three days landlines were the only way to communicate in their area.
I've got a cell. It's pay as you go and gets turned on during emergencies or when in the car. That's it.
ETA: one of my phones is still dial-up. Nothing like the solid feel of one of those old things, and the voice is so clear!

 

[Kinman]

A couple of years ago we had a lightning strike that hit the house behind us, it took out everybody's cell phones, we were the only people with a land line that got the call out for the fire department. We'll keep out land line thank you, we don't have a cell phone as of yet, we've done just fine without one for over 60 years. Irritates me that they have taken all the pay phones out but that just gives me more time to myself, with a good excuse to not be "checking in" every couple of hours like so many of my cell phone owning friends do...No Thanks...No cell phone for me.
Another thing to consider is that during a freakish Ice Storm that happened a couple of years ago all the power went down in the surrounding area, a cell phone will only work if it can remain charged, our telephone and gas fired appliances just kept chugging along.

 

[old bear]

I still have a hardwired land line that get some use.

Living in NC for a number of years now, I’ve been through blizzards, ice storms, hurricanes, and tornados. Every time we had a weather event cell service was gone in a hot second, but my, old fashioned, out of date, and non-hip slick and cool landline worked just fine.
I understand a landline is just one more expense, but as far as I’m concerned anyone who does not maintain minimum landline service is making a huge mistake. The piece of mind is well worth the $50.00 a month.