Phones and Internet

[SeaCat]

Okay so my wife and I went out and got new Cell Phones today.

Our contract was up almost two months ago. (They never did mention this to us.)

We looked at the offerings and finally settled on a couple of cheaper LG's. (LG VX-3800 I think.)

They aren't overly fancy. They were cheap. I renewed our contract. The phones were $49.00 each, but I was able to do a buy one get one free deal. I then got two $50.00 mail in rebates. So I'm getting paid to buy these phones.

The sound quality on these phones is better than that on my house phone. They are small. They have built in cameras. I can link them to my computer and download music from the computer.

My house phone is used for one thing. The internet. If I can get a cheap broadband connection through the Cable Company then I will do away with my house phone.

Already all of my long distance calling is through my cell, and my friends and family call me on my cell. Even work calls me on my cell. Why in the hell should I have a house phone?

The only thing holding me back is the price of broadband through the Cable. They want $40.00+ for the internet hookup, on top of the normal Cable. I get Internet for $10.00 through the phone company. (Okay so it's slow.)

I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking of dropping the house phone all together.

Anyone else out there in the same boat?

Cat

 

[cloudy]

We haven't had a landline in over a year.

We both have cells (his is company paid), and I have a really cheap plan through a local cell carrier: unlimited minutes, unlimited long distance in the contiguous states, voicemail, three-way calling, caller ID, unlimited text msgs, and unlimited internet access for $69/mo.

We pay about $45/mo for the cable internet over and above the cable tv charges (I have the fastest broadband they offer). It's still WAY cheaper than having a landline and dial-up.

Monthly charges for the landline alone were $65, not counting the internet access. Even at your rate of $10 a month for internet (mine was higher), that's still a total of $75 just for the dubious privilege of having dial-up internet service. Even at your cheaper rate, I now I pay $30 less a month for broadband.

 

[WRJames]

We switched one of our land lines to Vonage -- it is much, much cheaper, and you get things like phone mail for free. If you already have high speed internet for you computer you can just plug the Vonage box into it.

We now just have minimum basic service on the other land line, and we use Vonage for all outgoing calls.

 

[Lee Chambers]

I'll offer a bit of advice, you may want to go ahead and keep a basic land line for a few reasons.

If something goes screwy with your service, you can still call people on a land line. I'm sure we all know how unreliable cell phones can be when something in the system goes boom.

If you're having to deal with your credit card company, it's a very good idea to use a land line with a CORDED phone to speak with them, especially if you're sharing information like your social security number, credit card number, or anything like that. The reason: pick up one of those police radio scanners and they can be programmed to pick up telephone conversations. They'll pick up cell phone conversations as well as land line conversations using a cordless phone. Ask any paramedic, they're always warned about calling in patient information on their cellphones if they carry them.

Just my experience. Wouldn't suggest keeping a package deal with long distance, just something that would let you call locally if you needed to.

 

[Frank Noir]

Sort of.

We still have a home phone, but we've switched to VOIP - so technically, it's just an internet connection. And - unlike a cellphone - it's free for local calls and pretty cheap for international ones.

Mind you, months go by without anyone calling me on the home phone.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

We eliminated the phone company here at work. We use Optimum Voice for our phone sevices through our cable company.

The phone is never for me at home, so I never answer it, so it doesn't matter when service we use

 

[angelicminx]

I haven't had a landline in over 3 years. Granted, the cable internet is pricey, but as Cloudy mentioned, can be cost effective in the long run.

The other added benefit for me (I'm paranoid, remember) is I'm harder to locate through Google. If I Google my old name or my old number, I get my old address, middle name, etc. I get nothing with my new name or my cell number, which isn't to say it isn't out there somewhere, but the 'average' person isn't going to stumble across the information.

 

[glynndah]

But if I ditch my land-line, how are all those nice people who want to talk to me about crippled children, aluminum siding, replacement windows and light bulbs going to be able to find me?


I have a landline and buy my dial-up connection through them. It's kinda slow, but it serves my needs most of the time. I'm part of a co-op and get a rebate check of about $150 - $200 each Christmas based on my bill so the separate line and most of the cost for the internet really doesn't cost me very much.

 

[angelicminx]

But if I ditch my land-line, how are all those nice people who want to talk to me about crippled children, aluminum siding, replacement windows and light bulbs going to be able to find me?


I have a landline and buy my dial-up connection through them. It's kinda slow, but it serves my needs most of the time. I'm part of a co-op and get a rebate check of about $150 - $200 each Christmas based on my bill so the separate line and most of the cost for the internet really doesn't cost me very much.

They still seem to be able to find me, lol.

Good plan. I hadn't ever seen anything like that.

 

[glynndah]

It's local. I live just outside a tiny little village. Everything's long distance.

 

[CrimsonMaiden]

We have vonage which works through our cable. Though I've given serious consideration to canceling it and just using our cell phones.

 

[Lisa Denton]

Hi Cat.

I dunno your area, and it does't matter because all areas are different until you call and check, your neighbor might get something that is unavailable to you.

Anyways, you are in a unique situation and are wanted by any DSL providers who might service your area. If you get the basic phone service, tell them you want basic and they will give you a charge, them tell them no, you want basic, and they will give you a lower charge. Then ask what is included in basic and tell them cut all that shit out, just keep like 911 emergency and pay for cheap long distance minutes for however many you usually need. Then ask about DSL sales. Call all the companies because some will not service your area. There is some competition going on and one co in my area offered 12.99 a month and other companies trying to meet that. Its only for the new customers signing up, though, you.

That way, in my area, you get basic phone for about 25 bucks, and DSL for about 20 bucks. Its way faster than dial up, like astronomically faster, and depending on what you want and need, might be way cheaper. You will have a landline and fast connect. Also if you have been using dial up, paying for cable might be un-neccessary if your lil computer is slow. Why have superfast if your lil computer will only handle fast. There are two DSL speeds offered here, and the top one is all I will probably ever need, and I do stuff like 24/7 bit torrent downloads.

And ask people about service and customer care. AT&T sux big time, they don't care what you want or what your problems may be, they have a bizillion other customers who are way more important than you. And all telephone call support for phone or internet is outsourced to india or someplace, they are all real nice but you can't understand a word they say because of the thick accents.

I am just now using Earthlink phone and DSL. They have an on-line chat which works ok for support because you don't hear a accent with chat.

Anyways, I think you should shop around, and landline with DSL didn't sound like something you was considering, but might should be.

See ya, Lisa.

 

[christabelll]

its all another way to separate you from your hard earned mullah...
However, the reason to have a land line and a BATTERY-LESS phone becomes apparent in emergency situations -
flooding, ice storms, etc...
the power goes out for days - cell phone dies (car battery dies from charging your phone repeatedly) ... what have you... You will be able to reach out and touch someone if the need arises....
Next comes security as mentioned earlier... hackers are always finding ways to get into the fort knox of our personal information ...(tongue so far in cheek it hurts)...

IT really pays to comparison shop and bargain deals to better deals...


Have fun!

 

[Liar]

I am now 100% mobile.

I ditched land line telephony two years ago. Didn't renew it when I moved to my new apartment. But I have a land-line phone number connected to the same cell phone as my cell phone number. Good, since it make it look as if I have an office.

And since two days ago, my broadband is wireless over the Turbo 3G phone network. Cost me less than my old fibre thing, is only marginally slower, and I can take it with me on the bus. Can't ask for more. It only works in city-areas so far, but next summer I've been told, this new network will have national coverage.

Wires sucks.