No more land line

[Conan The Librarian]

Our landline phone got a lot of static in the line, and my wife called for a repair. They were going to charge $85. I said forget it, we don't need a land line anymore and we get almost no value from it. Let's just have it disconnected. I'm tired of paying them for nothing. She said OK. That was the end of that.

[quickdtoo]

I'd love to do that too, but cell service here is funky, 2 bars on a good day if I stand in front of the kitchen sink, none to one most of the time anywhere else. 

Tim

[Old Syko]

We dumped ours a number of years ago.  Got to the point it was useless for anything other than fax and even that is becoming an outdated mode of communication.  Saved a fair amount of money by getting rid of it and the only thing we missed was the telemarketers.  Kinda liked talkin with some of them that could speak English.  Became quickly understandable why they held the jobs they held.


If you have trouble with cell service in your area just try a different carrier.  Worked with a couple other guys that had different service providers and we were never without service.  One of us would have full service when another might have nothing.  Just have to find what works best in your area of operations.

[quickdtoo]

It's not the carrier, it's the neighborhood, I think it's EMF from Bonneville power transmission lines, no one gets good cell service here.   

Tim

[Oldshooter]

We ditched ma bell a few years ago for the same reason! We used cells for a while but when we built the new house the radiant barrier also blocks cell service. We did get a cell unit from verizon that has a base and antenna , you hook up a regular landline cordless to it and you have cell /cordless home phone.

[Anna]

Remember the prices they used to charge for long distance? The only land line I now have is for
DSL and that isn't worth having. 

[nw_hunter]

We ditched ma bell a few years ago for the same reason! We used cells for a while but when we built the new house the radiant barrier also blocks cell service. We did get a cell unit from verizon that has a base and antenna , you hook up a regular landline cordless to it and you have cell /cordless home phone.

We are getting ready to ditch our land line also. At present we receive our internet,TV and phone from a  cable co.
We're tired of paying through the nose for reruns of I love Raymond, Mash, Frazier or infomercials or a host of tv preachers.

I get a good Wi-Fi signal from a neighbor who is willing to share, and Straight Talk has a new service like the one from Verizon for 15.00 a month.Long dist. included. A TV ant. will get us a few local channels, and if she wants to watch Raymond, I'll let her take her pick from Youtube. That will save us about 100.00 a month, and my blood pressure will drop.

[Gun Runner]

Thats what I liked when I lived in the bush in Alaska. The radio station had what they called Jungle Drum, and every body had a C B.  No phone, no running water, no elect. and 75 feet to the Out House.

Gun Runner

[gypsyman]

Gun Runner, I'l bet by the time spring came, you had all the items picked out from the Sears catalog! gypsyman

[Oldshooter]

Nope!  Prolly werent no pages left in the Sears roebuck catalog! 

[Anna]

Thats what I liked when I lived in the bush in Alaska. The radio station had what they called Jungle Drum, and every body had a C B.  No phone, no running water, no elect. and 75 feet to the Out House.

Gun Runner

A lot of people I saw up there were returning to short wave for long distances along with a CB.
Since the whole two meter thing was allowed by the FCC.
As far as cable internet I tried Hughesnet Satellite but it was expensive and what they don't like to
tell you is they limit your download time. Then it goes back to this speed that's worse than dial up.
I went with Dish for my TV but now I wish I had kept my old big dish just for fun, it picked up about
everything even if it was all shopping channels.

My DSL on my land line is a joke, its really a zip file they send to a local office where its unzipped.
Everything is always buffering and streaming I can't watch anything that's like a real movie.
Even a YouTube video sometimes isn't worth messing with and it still cost fifty bucks a month.
And like your typical land line carrier if you have any problems and call for troubleshooting.
You get some guy in India who you can't understand and its always your fault. Then about the only
thing he is good for is asking you if your modem is plugged in.

I always like it when they tell you their name is something you can't pronounce but you can call him Rodger lol.
 


 

[pastorp]

Our land line stayed in Alaska when we retired. All we have is our cell phones. Since we lived in a church owned house we just changed the phone back into the churches name.

I found years ago, because of all the traveling I used to do, that AT&T was my best carrier. My phones seem to work anywhere from arctic Alaska to Florida and in between. Yes even Maine and the southwest.

Work & ministry teams would visit our village every summer in Alaska and watching all those folks struggle with cell service was eye opening. I'd ask what carrier the used and it was usually one I'd never heard of or Verizon. My longtime friend in NM uses Verizon & can't get service in his home town most of the time. My AT&T seems to work everywhere.

[Savage .250]

Pro`s and Con`s for sure.   

[SHOOTALL]

My 2 concerns is 911 and cell service goes out in storms and crisis here . With 911 dial and leave the phone off the hook they will send someone even if you can't talk.

[magooch]

I still don't trust them cell phone thingies.  I have one, but my wife yells at me all the time because I won't leave it turned on.  I don't think the electomagnetic wave dangers have been sufficiently proven one way, or the other.
Our land line and everything else is through Comcast.  It costs more than it's worth, but it works real well and long distance is free if you don't count the monthly rate.

[SHOOTALL]

There was so0mething about women getting breast cancer under the spot they carried their phones in their bras. 

[yellowtail3]

No more land line

I haven't had one since... 2007.

[powderman]

The only half way reliable internet is through our phone co. We have dsl, the land line with 1,000 free long distance mins, call waiting, etc. I believe it costs $64 a mo.
We have net 10 cell. They dropped a lot of their towers and service is pretty crappy compared to what it used to be. When power was out a few years ago ALL cell towers were down and the land line was all we had for several days. POWDERMAN. 

[FourBee]

I disconnected from my land line service several months ago after my cell phone service showed me I could save $$ by chunking my landline, and it's slower than a three legged tortoise internet connection, for new state of the art home phone connection, and a tiny USB Internet gizmo that's faster than a hare on nitro.   

[Anna]

No more land line

I haven't had one since... 2007.

Just told my land line to completely stick it including their so called DSL. The phone company was
padding my bill from what was supposed to be $35.00 a month to $75.00.
And it didn't work half the time and was very slow. My cell carrier walked me through setting up
everything on something called a hot spot. Where my IPhone is the Internet connection and YT3
it works wonderfully. All my computers are working fine now so its hard for me as a consumer
to have any pity for the land line phone company's I hope they all crash and burn.
And this service only cost me $4.00 more a month over a company that was rude and couldn't tell
the truth about thier billing. 10 x as fast with unlimited for only four dollars more per month?
No brainier if you ask me.

[FourBee]

No more land line

I haven't had one since... 2007.

 

Just told my land line to completely stick it including their so called DSL. The phone company was
padding my bill from what was supposed to be $35.00 a month to $75.00.
And it didn't work half the time and was very slow. My cell carrier walked me through setting up
everything on something called a hot spot. Where my IPhone is the Internet connection and YT3
it works wonderfully. All my computers are working fine now so its hard for me as a consumer
to have any pity for the land line phone company's I hope they all crash and burn.
And this service only cost me $4.00 more a month over a company that was rude and couldn't tell
the truth about thier billing. 10 x as fast with unlimited for only four dollars more per month?
No brainier if you ask me.

 

[Brett]

Ditched the land line about 7 years ago and went with Vonage threw the computer for a number of years.  But they kept jacking up their price.  I originally was paying $9.99 for unlimited local and long distance.  They eventually got the price up to around $25.   By that time my cell service had improved substantially in my area so I dumped Vonage also.  Now we just use the cell phones.  When you think about it the cell phones make better sence.  Each individual in the family has their own and it can go with them everywhere they go.   

[Blue Duck]

We got rid of our landline years ago.  Don't miss it a bit.

[Old Fart]

We dumped ours a couple years back. I really think the phone co wants it to go away.

[Anna]

Some phone company's can't compete in the cell market. All they have going for them anymore is
the Internet service they provide. And even that is Neanderthal compared to what the cell company's
can do. I remember the big bag phones that made men look as if they were carrying a purse.
I wonder how many bar fights that started? But you have to admit this cell thing has grown in leaps
and bounds and its only getting better. Even two years ago I would have never thought a small
cell phone could direct all my Internet traffic from two other computers but it is.
I can now actually watch movies over the Internet like you guys in the cities were taking for granted.
All over a little IPhone 4 which it is even outdated now. So if that's the case how backwards are the
land line guys? I think I'm going to try and sell my Panasonic cordless with answering machine
over at the antique mall.    Alarm clocks, note pads, calendars,land lines,and even compasses have
all been replaced by one simple little devise.

[Swampman]

We dumped ours and kept the number.  We had my wife's cell phone number changed to our landline number.  Saved a bunch of money too.
 

[Anna]

We dumped ours and kept the number.  We had my wife's cell phone number changed to our landline number.  Saved a bunch of money too.

Keeping the number can be very profitable. I saw where 867-5309 went on eBay for one million
dollars. For those who don't know what that is or why. Its from a one hit wonder called Tommy
Tutone from the 1980s and the song is 8675309 Jenny.
It is the most recognized phone number out there and was owned by a lady in NJ.
Her name isn't Jenny but she sure is rich now.


Sorry no cell phone numbers that you can choose. It had to be the original land line number from
that time period in order to be era.  AT&T says it is the most requested cell number they get.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrHQRgWXJK4

[FourBee]

We dumped ours and kept the number.  We had my wife's cell phone number changed to our landline number.  Saved a bunch of money too.

We were able to keep our landline # also. 

Like Anna, I was offered the i-phone access also, but my wife's cell had to be present among the computers for them to access the internet.  She's not always home when I'm searching the WEB, so they offered me this gismo thingy that the oil well companies, among other agencies, use with their laptops way out in no-mans land (like where I live), and it's super fast.

[Anna]

Yea my iPhone has to be around to do this. Or another phone like the Galaxy which they say works
better than all of them even with the iPad. I think the Galaxy is an android which seems to be an
ambidextrous OS and adapts as it goes along.
Iphones try to think for you and sometimes insert things you didn't ask for. And thier screens are too
small even with the IPhone 5.

[keith44]

When we built what we plan to be our retirement home (4 years ago) we specified no land line.  Cell coverage is ok, but sending a picture via text is spotty.  For internet we use Qwireless broadband and a wifi system I installed.  Saved us 1,200+ bucks a year.  Also dropped cable and satellite and just went with netflix and hulu subscriptions (saved another 1,200+ per year there) So if you can get decent cell coverage, or like a friend did, use magic jack and high speed internet, a land line is not needed, even for 911 calls in most areas.