Life without a land line (telephone)...

[Stainz]

Well, it slurps!

Saturday AM dawned - great web access. My wife tried her laptop via my wi-fi router when she got up - no access. We left for a few Saturday shopping stops and lunch - on the way home, #1 son calls my cellphone - suggests one of our six cats has knocked over a phone - our line has been busy all day. I get home - no line indication. I disconnect everything. I take an old, but known good, phone to the arrester block just inside the house - open - no voltage measured. I disconnecte everything from the arrester - just the pigtails from the outside box hanging free and repeat - nothing. I go outside to the AT&T box - same thing. It's the nearly forty year old twisted pair up at the pole.

I call the AT&T 24/7 repair line Sat evening - found that they answer 24/7 - they act M-F... probably Thursday. Instant DSL-withdrawal. My #1 son comes by Sunday for lunch - with his 3G capable iPAD - wow! I go to WallyWorld after he leaves - actually bought both an Acer and an iPAD - told they were 3G - not - both back unopened within the hour.Opened 'Good Buy' the next AM - their super-Geek suggested a wi-fi adapter for my PC, a T-mobile 4G data gizmo, and a pay-as-you-go card... $228. Long-story short, I got home and installed the goodies - they needed a 10-digit (phone) account number - even for the 800 numbers. Repacked, back to the store - another credit. No easy way out, I'll have to wait for my land line.

An AT&T 'tech' made it by last night - nearly dark - verified that it was their line on the pole - possibly my drop - like I said. She put in a work order for a lineman. Although she had a ladder on her truck - she had to get a lineman to check my drop, etc. Well, it was late. No idea of when that would be scheduled.

Well, breakfast at 'What-a-nasty-Burger' and my use of their Wi-Fi - and my wife's laptop - got me a quick 'fix' this AM. I can only nurse this soda so long... gotta go. I miss my land line... mainly that DSL, not so much the debt consolidation calls...

Stainz

 

[m1gunner]

Lose the land line. Get a pay as you go cell phone as your home number, and go retrieve that 4G setup.

I ditched the land line 2 years ago and haven't looked back. ATT has the worst CS of any business in this country .

 

[Maximumbob54]

Sorry. I have AT&T DSL and they have been nothing but good to me. My girl works for Verizon and we get to play with all the new wireless net gadgets. It's getting close, but it's still not a cable or DSL replacement. I guess if all you ever do is browse or email it will work, but then so would a cheap dial up. If you watch Netflix, listen to Pandora, or ever want to do anything that requires some real bandwidth then you still need the landline. That may start to change soon, but my time with Clear's 4G service prooved this point to me. Wireless is still full of latency or whatever the tech term is and is just too buggy. Besides, EVERYTHING was an excuse for the speed slowing down. I swear a flock of birds between you and the tower would slow you down... My AT&T DSL without the phone addition is perfect and we get a cutrate deal through her working there.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I use Comcast but was thinking about switching to fiber optic with EPB. I clicked on the EPB speed test for comparison and got this. I guess my Comcast speed of 17.7 download and 5.5 upload is fast enough...

Stainz, I don't understand the problem with needing a phone number since you said you had a cell phone. Why would T-mobile require a landline number to activate an account, or did you just not want to provide a phone number at all?



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[Maximumbob54]

I think Verizon does the same thing. It has something to do with billing requirements. You can't use a cell phone still because they are too easy to dump and have false names under them. A land line links you to an address so they can send you bills for sure. That was my explanation at least.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

I think Verizon does the same thing. It has something to do with billing requirements. You can't use a cell phone still because they are too easy to dump and have false names under them. A land line links you to an address so they can send you bills for sure. That was my explanation at least.

T-mobile.... a wireless company that does not trust wireless customers to do business with... Never would have thunk it.

 

[Broker50]

If cable ISP is available to you, there's about as much dufference between it & DSL as there is between DSL & dial-up.

 

[BillBingham2]

I looked at a WiFi hot spot from Verizon for about $200 with monthly card service. No need for a PC, it had everything you need. Keeping solutions simple is very important IMHO. Some Geeks from Good Buy are like some gun dealers.......

Take a look at the Verizon site for pay as you go WiFi options.

B2

 

[satch]

Went to Tracfone 2 years ago. We don't have our phone stuck the side of our ears all day so I buy a 450 minutes card and with the double minutes card I bought we get 900 minutes that lasts us at least 7 to 8 months. the 450 card costs $79.99 so we spend about $160 dollars a year for phone service on average.

 

[Stainz]

Assuming that it would be Thursday, anyway, I was packed to go shooting at the range this AM when the young lady tech from AT&T called back. She appeared shortly thereafter - and verified the fault was in their twisted pair - between the poles. She had to use her ladder afterall - and I was good to go an hour ago. Bliss.

The T-mobile device & help both needed my T-mobile account number (phone number). As my CMT service has been provided by Verizon/Cellular One since 1991/92, they wouldn't take my cell number. Likewise, dialing 'O' for operator - a humanoid, I hoped - didn't work. I tried to use the stuff. The CS guy at 'Good Buy', another Geek, suggested that there had to be a way to use the 4G goodie from T-mobile. I said no matter - just refund my moola - which he did. I still want an e-tablet.

Now, however, I am just happy to have the internet back!

Stainz

 

[Broker50]

Stainz, I forgot to mention another benefit of cable internet. I have three Magic-Jack devices , so I have three phone lines for about $3.50 a month ($69.95 for five years each). These devices work very well, actually more reliable than when I had AT&T land lines. That makes my cable internet very cost effective.

 

[GKC]

We got rid of our land line several years ago...initially we had a land line so we could have DSL, but our provider (CenturyLink) started offering stand alone DSL without having to have a land line, so we dropped our land line. We do not miss it...we use our cell phones for all our calls...all we ever got on the land line were wrong numbers and sales calls.

I thought at first we were going to have to lose our alarm system, but the alarm company came out and installed a cellular uplink on the system, so it will send an alarm call via that cellular unit, rather than the land line.

I do occasionally miss being able to send a fax from home...there may be a way to do it from my laptop via the internet, but I only send one once in a blue moon, so I just drive into town and send one for free from my bank (they offer that service for account holders.)

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Stainz, I forgot to mention another benefit of cable internet. I have three Magic-Jack devices , so I have three phone lines for about $3.50 a month ($69.95 for five years each). These devices work very well, actually more reliable than when I had AT&T land lines. That makes my cable internet very cost effective.

+1 MJ works great.

I plugged a cordless phone base station into MJ so I had two working cordless phones in the house. While it worked great, the wife and I really didn't use it much so we didn't renew (just a habit of using the cell phones), but for $20/yr it's just about free anyway. When in my office I use GMAIL "Call Phone" which is convenient.

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FAX- We just use the scanner on the printer and e-mail documents rather than faxing.

 

[rburg]

I hate cell phones. I had to carry one for years, supplied by the company. It was a nice way for them to torment me all day, everyday. Call it 24/7 if you wish. I still have their phone in my retirement. It sits on the dresser with the charger plugged in. I've managed to explode one battery that way, but the only damage was to the battery itself and it blew the cover off the back of the phone. Sometimes I walk into the bedroom and its making an annoying noise. I look at it and invariably its some call from someone I've never heard of. Most frequent is a call from the phone company itself, trying to get me to buy something else.

I'm not at all pleased or impressed with the idea of others contacting me when I'm out and about. I've never liked phone calls after a reasonable hour. I define that as when I'm in bed or should be. Call back tomorrow.

My sons have taken a different path. One still has his land line and its how I contact him most of the time. When no one answers I do a quick check to see if what I'm calling about is important. Then I realize it must be or I wouldn't be calling him.

The other son has eliminated a land line. Stupid. He also lives in a place with spotty reception. Often as not, he doesn't answer his cell phone. Could be he has a junk phone (I phone). But even when he has good reception he mimicks me and just doesn't answer. He has it good, we always answer the phone when he calls, he answers our calls when its convenient for him. I need to learn from him and treat him the same way.

Our phone and internet comes into our home via fiber. Its great, fast, and the wireless router is a hundred times better than the old one we supplied. This one still goes down from time to time, requiring a reset about once a month, maybe less. I can live with that. Cable TV is also part of the package, along with my wife's cell service. When Bell called a while back and asked how I'd feel about paying more (for some unwanted extra) I told them if they raised my price, I'd dump them and go with the cable company. Then I told them not to call me back.

 

[GKC]

FAX- We just use the scanner on the printer and e-mail documents rather than faxing.

One of the things I fax on occasion is a withdrawal request to our investment account, and they require a notarized signature...which, now that I say that, they don't get an original with a fax. Hmmm...I may try scanning the notarized document into the computer and e-mailing it to them. Looks like they would accept that just as well as they would a fax copy.

 

[AZretired]

Haven't had a land line in my home since '03. We use Verizon for cell service and have since before it was Verizon. For the computer we use cable. When ever I am required to list a home phone I list my wife's cell and then list my cell for the cell #. Never had a problem.

 

[mkk41]

Dropped my land line about 8yrs ago. Cell phone only. Don't think I've ever gone over 200min/mon. Got ComiCast cable & internet , and they keep sending me flyers for their 'triple play' including internet phone service. No thanks.

 

[bearman49709]

All you city slicker's with your toy's, most of you would be lost here.No cable offered, very little cell recption. Sometimes you can get in a cell phone call inside the house, most times you have to go outside (try that at 30 below). We have three cell phone providers, no phones older than 1.5 years. Without land line and dialup I wouldn't have internet.

 

[460v LAC du FLAMBEAU]

I canceled my landline 4 months ago and have Verizon service with my Droid X smart phone. Coverage is very good even in this section of the Northwoods contending with 6 billion pine trees. Internet is done at my office.

I purchased an "Iridium" satellite phone for emergency back up and I use it on my hunting trips...Northwest Territories, Alaska & South Africa. This Iridium phone has 100% global coverage and has assured privacy. Seal Team 6 used it recently when they nailed bin Laden.

 

[Fuquayvarina]

Try FAXZERO.COM.
I use it almost daily, FREE.

Good luck,
Cal