Ditch landline for cell phone + cordless units?

[CaptTom]

We ditched our land line a few years ago. Never once missed it.

Just an observation: Land line service used to be extremely reliable. Think about how rugged those old Ma Bell phones were! But lately the companies have changed hands a number of times, and I hear they're not putting much into maintenance. It's a dying industry. People are dropping their land line service in droves.

The cell industry, by comparison, is strong, maybe even still growing. There are always new towers, better coverage, upgraded technologies, etc.

True, disasters can take out cell towers. But they're far more likely to take out utility poles and the increasingly fragile land line infrastructure.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom Just an observation: Land line service used to be extremely reliable. Think about how rugged those old Ma Bell phones were! But lately the companies have changed hands a number of times, and I hear they're not putting much into maintenance. It's a dying industry. People are dropping their land line service in droves. The cell industry, by comparison, is strong, maybe even still growing. There are always new towers, better coverage, upgraded technologies, etc. True, disasters can take out cell towers. But they're far more likely to take out utility poles and the increasingly fragile land line infrastructure.

^ What he said.

Our daughter lives in a valley with poor cell phone reception and is forced to hang on to a land line. Frequent outages and slow response when repairs are needed.

[euro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beldar Yes it does. We do something similar by only having 2 cell phones (no contract) and an internet phone (cordless, two handsets). Noisy landline went bye-bye years ago. _B

Yes, we did this too, but there is a significant problem for us. We have a monitored security system and that service regularly pings our phone connection (to ensure the line is operational). Since switching to TimeWarner as internet service providers, our phone connection is not very stable anymore. By that I mean that the phone modem will crash maybe a couple of times a month. At other times, it will just drop the connection and then pick it back up a few minutes later. In either scenario, our security system senses the disconnection and raises a ruckus. Don't yet know if it is a modem problem or something about the cable service in general, but I now wish I had kept my old ATT landline - that had worked flawlessly for 25+ years

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba I don't understand the benefits of GV and other similar solutions vs just canceling the land line and using cell phones only. Why wouldn't that be the simplest, effective and lower cost solution?

Google Voice is free. That is the ultimate cost-effectiveness.

We ported to a tracfone. At the time GV would not allow port of landline. 1st year cost was $150. Following years are $100 each. Verizon was charging $300 per year for limited features. Now pay tracfone $100 to keep the banked minutes and texts going for a year.

Reasons to port landline:
- Have had number for almost 30 years. Some long-lost relatives or friends may use it for contact.
- On tracfone or GV solution there are additional features.
- Having an extra line is very convenient. Where I must give a phone contact, I sometimes use the landline, keeping annoying sales call away from my cell.
- In the home it is very convenient to have another internet device that can go from room to room as necessary. Turn up the heat, watch security camera, etc.
- The device can travel with us.
- Can share the device with a visitor who may have a limited plan when in town.

In a year or two I may port the number to GV.

[Cobra9777]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom ...Just an observation: Land line service used to be extremely reliable. Think about how rugged those old Ma Bell phones were! But lately the companies have changed hands a number of times, and I hear they're not putting much into maintenance. It's a dying industry. People are dropping their land line service in droves. The cell industry, by comparison, is strong, maybe even still growing. There are always new towers, better coverage, upgraded technologies, etc...

Almost everyone I know who has traditional landline service gets it through their cable company. In our area, that means either Frontier FiOS (buried fiber optic) or Charter (overhead coax cable). Both are reliable, modern digital phone services (VoIP) and the cable infrastructure is well maintained. No one I know still has POTS (analog voice service over copper), except one friend who lives on a farm with no cable available. And yes, her monthly cost is high and reliability is poor.

There's no question that POTS is obsolete and poorly maintained, but that's not how most people or businesses get landline service these days. For those like me who still want landline service for whatever reason (I listed mine here), the choice for most is whether to pay $12-15/mo to the cable company, sub-$5 to a VoIP provider, or $0 to GV... all for the same service. I like $0.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bestwifeever We went straight to cell by porting our landline number to a new cell phone and have never wished we had another type of system. Less is better for us.

I did exactly the same. Just by fluke coincidence about 10 years ago my cordless phone and answering machine died within a couple days of each other. I switched to a cell phone and kept my number and haven't had a moment of regret since. In fact, I now often wonder how I managed to get by when the only time that I could only use my phone was when I was at home.

[Fedup]

Not yet. But at least this is one area I can cut if I need to.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo +1 We did the same 11 years ago. Our land line suffered the same fate as our dial-up internet - technology moves on.

I like this observation. Almost nobody has a personal landline any more around here, except for a very few very elderly people who are resistant to change. There just isn't any reason for anyone to have one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom We ditched our land line a few years ago. Never once missed it. Just an observation: Land line service used to be extremely reliable. Think about how rugged those old Ma Bell phones were! But lately the companies have changed hands a number of times, and I hear they're not putting much into maintenance. It's a dying industry. People are dropping their land line service in droves. The cell industry, by comparison, is strong, maybe even still growing. There are always new towers, better coverage, upgraded technologies, etc. True, disasters can take out cell towers. But they're far more likely to take out utility poles and the increasingly fragile land line infrastructure.

+1 After Hurricane Katrina, both cell and landline were severely disrupted around here. I wouldn't choose either one on the basis of being preferable after a disaster.

[target2019]

"46% of households still have landlines."
Headline from the NY Post.

39% have both landline and cell.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 "46% of households still have landlines." Headline from the NY Post. 39% have both landline and cell.

And that was said on the basis of data compiled for a CDC study and then described in that article. Depending on how lightning-fast the CDC gets their studies completed and released, that data used in the study could be maybe 2-3 years old already. With landline rates going up so much in the past few years, I'm thinking that the national percentages may be lower by now.

[Bestwifeever]

Both my kids have landlines, one for working from home and the other, I don't know, for emergencies as they have small children, or it dropped the price of internet and cable (the "triple package" is cheaper many places--go figure), or it figured into a security system. So the percentage might be higher than we expect.

[JoeWras]

Cell phones stink when you are talking with people with hearing issues.

Heck, cell phones stink many times for non-hearing impaired calls.

This is why we haven't dropped land line yet. We have family who have impairments both in hearing and cognition. It just adds another barrier to have a bad connection.

Worst yet, many times the bad connection is just one way. You may hear everything fine, but on the other side, it sounds like you are talking under dirt. Please remember this when you call me with your phone and I sound fine. Guess what, you don't.

Sadly, this has been a trend in many cases. "Just give it to me for free, cheap or easy, and I don't care what it looks like or sounds like."

That said, we'll probably be dropping landline soon. Cell phone voice quality has gotten better and will continue. VoLTE is rolling out and will help.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Cell phones stink when you are talking with people with hearing issues. Heck, cell phones stink many times for non-hearing impaired calls. This is why we haven't dropped land line yet. We have family who have impairments both in hearing and cognition. It just adds another barrier to have a bad connection. Worst yet, many times the bad connection is just one way. You may hear everything find, but on the other side, it sounds like you are talking under dirt. Please remember this when you call me with your phone and I sound fine. Guess what, you don't. Sadly, this has been a trend in many cases. "Just give it to me for free, cheap or easy, and I don't care what it looks like or sounds like." That said, we'll probably be dropping landline soon. Cell phone voice quality has gotten better and will continue. VoLTE is rolling out and will help.

I had an AWFUL problem with voice transmission on my iPhone 5S. Usually people couldn't hear me unless I yelled. I have a soft voice compared with most women, and had to yell so loud to be heard, that it was difficult for me and making me hoarse. Sometimes I couldn't hear them, either. Finally after a couple of years of this, with it getting even worse, I was fed up. I switched from Verizon to Cricket, got a free LG Spree phone, and magic happened!!! On my free phone I can hear beautifully and even the quality of voices is much better. People can hear me, too. Problem solved.

Don't know if it would help for you, but thought I would mention it.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R And that was said on the basis of data compiled for a CDC study and then described in that article. Depending on how lightning-fast the CDC gets their studies completed and released, that data used in the study could be maybe 2-3 years old already. With landline rates going up so much in the past few years, I'm thinking that the national percentages may be lower by now.

July 2016 - Dec 2016.
Yes, the number of adults with cell phone is going up.

[donheff]

I went with Magic Jack for my home phone. Cheap and was able to use the house wiring for a wall phone plus a couple of existing cordless bases and satellites. I don't like the idea of dedicating a cell phone to serve as our "home" number. I could see dumping the magic jack and not having a "home" number at some point.

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Cell phones stink when you are talking with people with hearing issues. Heck, cell phones stink many times for non-hearing impaired calls. ... That said, we'll probably be dropping landline soon. Cell phone voice quality has gotten better and will continue. VoLTE is rolling out and will help.

This is a combination of you-get-what-you-pay-for and needing to upgrade to the latest phones.

My 2 year old iPhone 6S+ supports both WiFi calling and Voice over LTE (ATT calls this HD voice). Both offer excellent voice quality *IF* the phone on the other end also supports it. If you are calling a friends old flip phone, there isn't much anyone can do.

Also, non-phone phone apps like FaceTime Audio (and Skype?) also offer very high quality audio.

I mainly call family and we all have iPhones. The calls are better quality than the good old days of land lines and Western Electric phones.

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Cell phones stink when you are talking with people with hearing issues.

See above about the latest technology. There's been a lot of work done concerning integrating cell phones and hearing aids.

For example: https://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/hearing/ and https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201466

That being said, my DF still just uses speaker phone to talk because of his hearing aids - even though I've shown him how to get a better result using Bluetooth.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff I went with Magic Jack for my home phone. Cheap and was able to use the house wiring for a wall phone plus a couple of existing cordless bases and satellites. I don't like the idea of dedicating a cell phone to serve as our "home" number. I could see dumping the magic jack and not having a "home" number at some point.

One reason a cell phone might be good for a home number (assuming one wants a home number) is that it might be a way to reduce robocalls. Mr. Number is something DW has been trying out on her cell, as the last few months she has been plagued by robocalls. Also Nomorobo is being developed for Android phones and is in test phase now. I guess Nomorobo is available on Iphones.

Note, if I could not get a cheap cell phone and and service for $10/month it would not be worthwhile. Since I can, it might be a nice step before going with the Voip stuff suggested above.

[imoldernu]

Over my head...
We have Comcast 25Mbps and use Vonage. Conversations with my kids on their "smart"phones are broken up and static filled, but when talking to people who are on landlines, the reception is perfect. Know that some of this happens when the kids use bluetooth, but it's bad even when they don't.

The second part that I don't understand is why my conversations over Skype, are perfect, with no static at all.

[ejman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Over my head... We have Comcast 25Mbps and use Vonage. Conversations with my kids on their "smart"phones are broken up and static filled, but when talking to people who are on landlines, the reception is perfect. Know that some of this happens when the kids use bluetooth, but it's bad even when they don't. The second part that I don't understand is why my conversations over Skype, are perfect, with no static at all.

I use Messenger for calls to family and it's usually crystal clear at both ends. But it seems that calls using the cell networks are much lower in quality, particularly when calling some iphone users (like my daughter) from my android phone. The weird thing is that I can hear her just fine (and vice versa) when she uses Messenger. I can barely understand her when she is using her regular cell network. No idea why.