want to get rid of landline but need dsl

[ER_Hopeful]

I live in a Verizon area in SoCal. I want to get rid of my landline but my dsl(also verizon) is dependent on it? does anyone have any suggetions on what to do here? thanks

[Lusitan]

I have wanted to explore the same thing for a while now, but haven't gotten around to it. I did come across this article and bookmarked it, but I haven't followed up to see what's available in my area:

AT&T to offer $20 'naked' DSL service - USATODAY.com

Let me know if you get further than I have on this ...

[wheel9]

Cable, EVDO Card.

[BunsGettingFirm]

You don't need a working telephone landline to get Verizon DSL. You do need a phone jack in the house, but almost every house has the wiring for phones. What you can do is get a virtual number. If Verizon tell you they don't know what the heck that is, tell them you're canceling both the phone and the DSL and going with cable and Vonage and see how fast they remember virtual phone numbers. Phone and cable companies can be so devious in their price quotes that I'm amazed some enterprising lawyer hasn't brought a class action lawsuit.

[mn54]

O.K. How does a virtual number work? Will this work in any part of the country? Sounds interesting.

[BunsGettingFirm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn54 O.K. How does a virtual number work? Will this work in any part of the country? Sounds interesting.

You get a spare phone number from the phone company, and that becomes your "phone" and how your DSL account is identified. The phone number is not in service, so you can't use it to make calls.

[donheff]

You need a wire running from your premises to a device called a DSLAM at the nearest central office (a switch box). You don't need a regular phone signal (POTS) running over the line. When I used a separate DSL carrier and ran servers in the house I had a dedicated DSL line with no phone on it. You do pay something for the line - less than an actual phone circuit. DSL and POTS are just two different signals traveling over the same physical wire. Back in the early days of DSL, I knew a network engineer who setup a kind of unregulated remote office Internet connection by having the phone company set up an "alarm circuit" (otherwise dead wire used for alarm companies to carry their signals) between his networked office and a nearby building where he had no Internet connection. He added a DSLAM at his end and a DSL modem at the other and saved the cost of a T1 line.

[al_bundy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn54 O.K. How does a virtual number work? Will this work in any part of the country? Sounds interesting.

phone # is all numbers, a virtual number has letters in it

[ziggy29]

Where I am, Verizon offers "naked DSL" (heh heh, hey Beavis, he said "naked") where I live for about $10 per month more than DSL bundled with land line service. I have done that yet, but I am considering it. Of course, if they ever brought FiOS to the boonies, that may be another consideration.

[Jessica08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ER_Hopeful I live in a Verizon area in SoCal. I want to get rid of my landline but my dsl(also verizon) is dependent on it? does anyone have any suggetions on what to do here? thanks

I am not sure what is available in your area, but could you use a cable modem? That way you only need a cable subscription.

[FinanceDude]

I have ATT DSL, and a landline. My cell is with Verizon so I can't do the whole bundle, but I have been trying to call them to drop the landline and get digital phone, but their number is always busy..........

[Lusitan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ziggy29 Where I am, Verizon offers "naked DSL" (heh heh, hey Beavis, he said "naked") where I live for about $10 per month more than DSL bundled with land line service.

Not trying to be smart, just double-checking: you mean that Verizon offers DSL-only for $10 LESS than DSL bundled with land-line service, right?

Not that I would put it past them to charge MORE for naked DSL (kinda like airlines charging more for a one-way flight than for a roundtrip) ...

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lusitan Not trying to be smart, just double-checking: you mean that Verizon offers DSL-only for $10 LESS than DSL bundled with land-line service, right? Not that I would put it past them to charge MORE for naked DSL (kinda like airlines charging more for a one-way flight than for a roundtrip) ...

No. What I mean is that the DSL service itself is $10 less per month when it's bundled with land line service. After you add in the cost of local phone service it's more costly than naked DSL.

[mn54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lusitan I have wanted to explore the same thing for a while now, but haven't gotten around to it. I did come across this article and bookmarked it, but I haven't followed up to see what's available in my area: AT&T to offer $20 'naked' DSL service - USATODAY.com Let me know if you get further than I have on this ...

Looked at the att website. The $20 price is good for 12 months. Then it goes to the regular price of $40 per month.

[Urchina]

We use Cox cable for our internet access and have been happy with it.

I've also been tempted to let our land line go, but the fires up here this last week have brought home to me the importance of having a land line, for two reasons:
1. Reverse 911 -- our community invested in a reverse 911 system last year and used it twice last week to send out evacuation orders. You can sign a cell phone up for reverse 911, but...

2. Cell phone towers out. This didn't happen during the fires, but during our earthquake a couple of years ago several cell towers got knocked out and the remaining towers couldn't handle the call volume that followed. Our cell phones were worthless, which would have really freaked me out except that we had a land line.

You may have different feelings about the likelihood of natural disaster striking your area, but the $25 a month we pay for landline service literally allowed me to sleep at night last week, knowing that if a reverse 911 call came, we'd get it on our land line.


Just a couple of things to consider.

[Bikerdude]

You can probably still have a "land" line through the use of a VOIP service like SKYPE over your internet connection. You would need to have a microphone on your PC.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lusitan I have wanted to explore the same thing for a while now, but haven't gotten around to it. I did come across this article and bookmarked it, but I haven't followed up to see what's available in my area: AT&T to offer $20 'naked' DSL service - USATODAY.com Let me know if you get further than I have on this ...

I looked at this but since I'm getting ATT landline plus DSL for just over $28/mo (includes all fees and taxes), didn't seem worth cutting the landline to save approx $100/yr. DW likes the landline and I won't spend the year arm wrestling with her over that amount of $$$.

[stephenandrew]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ER_Hopeful I live in a Verizon area in SoCal. I want to get rid of my landline but my dsl(also verizon) is dependent on it? does anyone have any suggetions on what to do here? thanks

We did dropped our land line but kept Verizon DSL. I believe to make this happen, Verizon set us up on a "Dry Loop" (I believe that was the terminology used by their customer serivce folks.) Anyway, as I understand it, we do have a phone number, though I have no idea what it is any longer. Has worked fine for over a year, though there were a few billing/transition issues at the start.

[Lsbcal]

Aren't you a wee bit concerned about what happens in a major emergency situation like an earthquake? I think the redundant landline is worth it for insurance purposes.