Land line alternative

[OldShooter]

So the Telo connects to the router which connects to the phone jack in the wall.

Not quite. The Telo sits between the router and the phones. It is the magic conversion box. To be clear, by "router" I mean a box that has a few RJ-45 ethernet sockets on the back. Often a router will be connected by a jumper to an ethernet switch, which expands the number of RJ-45s. Ooma advises against plugging into a switch; they want their connection to be directly to the router. Truthfully I'm not sure it matters.

The modem comes out of the chain then?

Any modem is between the router and the internet cable from someone like Comcast. Other systems might combine the modem-type function and the router, in which case you only have one box with the RJ-45 sockets on it. T-Mobile internet service probably has only one box.

How portable is this if I need to move it? I move the whole package to another phone jack?

All the phone jacks connect to the same two wires, so you can plug the "Phone" connection of the Telo into any of them You can also hard-wire the telo phone wires to the house phone wires but I don't know why someone would bother with that.

As mentioned, you could also connect the Telo to the base unit of a cordless phone set and completely skip connecting to the house wiring. With that approach, though, a phone plugged into a house jack wouldn't work. I think it's best to connect to the house system but YMMV.

 

[Chuckanut]

I've also have the Ooma Telo as my landline. It is connected to a wireless system base unit and I have remotes in three other places. My home has three levels and I wanted a phone on each level for safety. If I fell and broke a leg or arm, I didn't want to have to drag my body up or down stairs to call 911. Interestingly, my phones have only been used once for 911, and that was by a visitor who got suddenly ill while I was down the block. I returned home to find the EMT's at my door. So, I am glad I had it. And if it's never used for 911 again, I'll be even gladder.

 

[Bamaman]

We have internet service thru a cable tv company, and it's pretty hot. But it goes in and out in peak times like Friday nights. I was looking for alternatives and Hughes Net is just not fast enough.

5G thru a cell phone company is my only option, except 5G is unavailable out here in the country.

My land based telephone is through my internet, and I use the tried and true MagicJack which is easy to use and $39 a year. It's actually been a pretty good service, and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg monthly.

 

[pb4uski]

Interesting article on 4G home internet options.

https://www.wired.com/story/4g-lte-wifi-broadband-at-home/