I gave up my Land Line

[Industrialsize]

My husband and I both have cell phones. We realized our "land line" was not needed anymore. So we've given it up and gone totally wireless. Don't miss having a land line at all. I'd be curious to know how many people have done the same and given up their land line.

 

[nudeyorker]

I like having a land line. During 9/11 I lost service for most of the day. And during the blackout a few years ago my cell was useless once it lost it's charge. I just like my land line because I'm old fashioned I guess.

 

[Northland]

That'll work real good for you when the cellphone towers go down. In case of emergency, a land line is often the only thing which doesn't get wiped out.

Power failure? Many telephones still work because of a different electrical source and they don't need to be recharged the way a cellphone does.


I have both land and cell and plan to stay with this most excellent plan.

Having only a land or only a cell is like having sex with a walrus.

 

[B_Lightkeeper]

If I had cell service at my house (I have to go down the road a couple of miles to get a decent signal) I'd certainly give ujp my land line. My PC is satellite internet connected.

Just look at the added charges for landline service. Ridiculous.

 

[HazelGod]

I have a VOIP line that my company pays for, but I haven't had a landline in my home for 5+ years now.

 

[Calboner]

I have no intention of giving up my land line. Even if you have no problems with cellular phone reception where you live, the device itself is a very fragile thing. You can break it, lose it, neglect to recharge it, or it may simply cease to function, and then you have no backup. I think it's very imprudent to let one's telephone connection depend on a single device that is so easily lost or incapacitated.

 

[SilverTrain]

Nixed the landline 3 years ago.

In the event of the apocalypse, assuming the cell towers are downed, I indeed won't be able to contact my friends/relatives to commiserate re the impending annihilation.

I also don't have extra food stores, nor a generator or extra flashlights, etc. I guess I'll have to hope I get bit by a vampire and gain immortality.

 

[Stretch]

Because of my job situation and how often I travel somewhere new I haven't had a land line in 15 years

 

[B_talltpaguy]

I have no intention of giving up my land line. Even if you have no problems with cellular phone reception where you live, the device itself is a very fragile thing. You can break it, lose it, neglect to recharge it, or it may simply cease to function, and then you have no backup. I think it's very imprudent to let one's telephone connection depend on a single device that is so easily lost or incapacitated.

That's why I keep one of my old phones as a backup... All I have to do is swap my sim card into the old phone and it works upon rebooting.

If someone is on a CDMA network, sorry for your luck though.

 

[gymfresh]

Can't really give up my landline for 2 reasons: it's the basis of my DSL connection, and I live in a highly active hurricane zone.

By law, landlines can only have a maximum acceptable outage of 1% or less, so they are extraordinarily reliable. There is no such law for cellular service.

In 2005 after Katrina and Wilma, some of my neighbors lost cellular for 4 or 5 days and cable for up to 2 weeks. That meant no TV, no cable internet and no mobile calls. In contrast, those who had DSL and landline phone were back up again within hours.

 

[lurker37160]

Nope. I'm keeping my landline. How many things in life are more dependable than a dialtone? Seriously.

 

[rbkwp]

from New Zealand and landlnes (for me) are essential
Need my landline for Dial Up still. (cant afford Sattellite on the Island i live on)
Landlines suit me for clarity, i dislike the whole idea of having a mobile just for the convenience of..if you never had one you would possibly not make 1/2 the calls you THINK you need to make
admittedly Mobiles could be essential if you have a Family or Partner.
enz

--Loving the ole fashion LANDLINE ha

 

[B_talltpaguy]

In contrast, those who had DSL and landline phone were back up again within hours.

Sorry, but I beg to differ... I was in Pensacola after Ivan, and in S Fla after Wilma, doing disaster recovery work for Bell South... I know for a fact that in Pensacola, there were thousands of customers without landline service for at least 6-8 weeks, and thousands in Broward County after Wilma who went without for at least 2-4 weeks, depending upon the neighborhood.

I was also in Port Charlotte working for my uncle's construction company after Charley doing free repair/volunteer work for dozens of residents over the course of about 6 weeks, and there were neighborhoods down there along the Peace River that didn't have power or landline service for over two months, compelling many of them to switch to satellite TV/Internet and drop landline service for good. (like my uncle and dad, who live in one of those neighborhoods)...

Once a disaster area is declared, those rules you refer to for landlines go right out the window.

However, by and large, cell phones were back up within 48 hours (if not sooner) in all three regions (using temp comm towers and relay trucks if need be), because that's what emergency response crews and recovery crews used to communicate when police radios were knocked out.

 

[petite]

TheBF has a land line, but he hasn't paid for it in a decade. He was an early adopter of an internet phone service, and they just never sent him a bill. We're waiting for the day when they notice.

Unfortunately, it does not work if the internet goes out, so it might not very useful in a disaster situation. Also, I'm unsure of how 911 works from the phone and I don't know how to test that since it's illegal to dial 911 if you don't have an emergency. I've never wondered about that before until just this very moment.

 

[gymfresh]

thousands in Broward County after Wilma who went without for at least 2-4 weeks, depending upon the neighborhood.

Well, I can only reference what the difference in having BellSouth service meant for me; and why I won't consider getting rid of it.

Maybe I was lucky; I had electricity again from FPL within about 36 hours (my sis in Deerfield Beach went almost a week without electricity, and had to shower and charge her phone at my place). And my phone service was back up within about a day, while Comcast was out for about 3 weeks. My 2 cell phones, on T-mobile, were useless.

I've been told that I am on or next to an emergency grid, used for hospitals (?) and other essential services, even though there's not a hospital within 5 miles of me. All I know is I got every regulated utility back very quickly, and even those just 3 blocks from me didn't. Landline does fine by me.

 

[deleted15807]

Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is literally collapsing. It will go the way of videocassettes.

 

[crescendo69]

I would give up my landline, but I want prospective customers to be able to find me in the phone book. I don't think cell phone numbers can be put there. Also, those long calls that put you on hold - those cell minutes add up.

 

[SpeedoMike]

I have kept my landline. where I live cellular 911 calls are regionally answered at a central point by the highway patrol. in the San Francisco Bay Area, this is a very large area.

First, they have to answer the line and second they have to transfer the call to the local jurisdiction. again, in this area there are at least a hundred local 911 answering points. the cellular 911 dispatcher has to figure out where you are, if possible, and transfer the call. the last time I called cellular 911, took 4 1/2 minutes to have the call answered and transferred.

the local 911 dispatcher answers my landline in five or ten seconds. when seconds count, and they do, I want my call handled ASAP. Kudos to San Mateo County 911.

 

[Mem]

I sort of gave it up. I switched to MagicJack and now I only pay $20 a year for phone service. I have to have the computer on to use it, but people can leave me a message via voicemail when the phone is off. I've had it for a few months and so far it's as good as using Comcast for my phone service for $40 or more a month.

 

[Bbucko]

I haven't had a land line since 2004.

During both Katrina and Wilma (in 2005) I was without electricity for much more than two weeks (after Wilma, it was more like ten), but never lost cell-phone service and it was a cheap-ass piece-o-poopie prepaid phone from T-Mobile.

Friends with generators were kind enough to let me keep it charged.

For whatever this season brings, I can only hope that Metro PCS is as reliable as that old pre-paid thing was.