# Do you have a land line and a cell phone?



## ellesu (Feb 19, 2009)

I hope I phrased that correctly....you know, a home phone and a cell phone?  I'm seriously considering having my home phone (land line) turned off and getting an iPhone.  Budget wise it would pretty much be an even swap.  But, having had a home phone forever, I can't imagine being without one.  We get very few calls on our home phone, and when we switched to digital service we didn't even get voice mail.  (Didn't get caller id at first, but I soon fixed that.)     I really can't think of any disadvantages of having our home phone service cut off.  

Actually, I can think of one advantage to having both....  We were with AT&T during Katrina and kept service the entire time.  We weren't always able to make outgoing or receive incoming calls readily but we had a dail tone.  We had switched to digital by the time Gustav hit and when the power/computer went down, there went the phone -- for five days.  Of course when you loose electricity, recharging your cell can be a pain, but I'm sure with our generator we'd be able to do something.  We have a car charger but after a storm fuel's precious.   I just don't know.  

And....is a $99 upgrade to an 8 GB fairly standard? ....Thanks, I know I could call a customer rep but I get so confused when talking to people about tech stuff.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I'm really old fashioned.  I ONLY have a land line.


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## evpseeker (May 29, 2009)

I have both. I would probably get rid of my house phone but my husband is in the military and because of his specific job he is required to have a land line. I know there are lots of ppl that have a cell phone only.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

My husband really wants to go to cell phone only - one of my daughters has gone that route, as have some of our friends.  Recently we went back to very basic land line service (boy do I miss caller ID!).  I was beginning to consider going along with cell only, but right now our grandkids are here frequently, and the one real thing that keeps me from doing that is that it's about time for my granddaughter (who is 4) to learn about calling 911 in an emergency.  Wouldn't be much help with a cell phone, but if something happened and she needed to call 911 they could find us via the land line.  So we'll probably keep the land line for a while longer.  

(I'd never have thought of this on my own, by the way - a friend pointed it out to me!)


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I do still have both.... My house alarm is wired to the phone line, without the phone line the alarm would sound, but the alarm company would not be contacted. It is pretty much the only reason I keep the land line.


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## sharyn (Oct 30, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> I do still have both.... My house alarm is wired to the phone line, without the phone line the alarm would sound, but the alarm company would not be contacted. It is pretty much the only reason I keep the land line.


Me, too. That and the gate at the front of the subdivision. I need land lines for both of those.


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## beachgrl (Nov 10, 2008)

We were without power for 8 days after a hurricane.  Our cell phones could only be charged from the cars.  We keep one old fashioned land line phone for these emergencies.  Still need cells to call out of our area, our families are in different states.  But, we will never be without a land line.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I know a lot of people that got rid of the landline and only have a cell.  We have both in Mexico, but that is because it is the only way I can get my internet connection.  No one knows my cell number either, it is strictly for emergencies when out of the house.  Luckily I have not had to test it out


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I have both and use my land line more.  If I had to give up one of them, it would be the cell phone.  The reception is much better on my home phone and it's more comfortable to hold.  

I'm finding my cell phone to be a PITA. I downgraded my T-Mobile plan, but I've only saved $10 a month.  It's nice to have when I'm out of town, but I'd rather get messages on my home machine.  Really hate the time wasted on checking cell phone voice mail.

I should look into basic cheap cell phone service.

I know people who have only cell phones and also people who don't have cell phones.  I just got mine about six years ago when I got a job where I don't have my own line and wanted relatives to be able to reach me without going through my supervisor.  Before that job, I'd had my own line at work.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Both.
deb


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I used to use the cell for all long distance calls, but I've since gotten unlimited domestic calling on my home phone.


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## kcgill (Aug 9, 2009)

We have both.  When the ice storm came and we were without power for almost 3 weeks, we had NO AT&T cell service.
Hubby is afraid we would not have cell service in an emergency situation.  We live out in the country and sometimes have service issues anyway.
I have problems w/Whispernet service quite a bit too.  Sometimes I have to go walk around outside until I can get a good signal.

Cyndi


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

We have basic land line service.  No long distance.  We have plenty of minutes on our cell phone plan and use that for outgoing long distance calls.  We'd move to a fewer minutes plan, but they don't have one. 

We give out the land line number to service people -- like leaving stuff for repair and such -- they can leave a message if we're not home.  Pretty much only family and close friends have the cell numbers and most of those are on the same network so it doesn't even use minutes to talk to them.

My son is on our family plan even though he lives in NJ.  He has no land line and I don't thank any of his friends do either.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I have both, and have no intentions of giving up my land line. For one thing I don't want to share my iphone with my daughter and her hours long conversations per day with her boyfriend cross country. Nope.


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## Mary Quite Contrary (Aug 11, 2009)

We have been paying $50 month for a land line and the only calls we got on it were requests for charitable donations.  Basically, we were paying to be solicited.  My husband protested getting rid of it because we had a cool number, easy to remember, had it for 10 years.  We debated it for months, but I finally cut the cord a month ago.  It has been wonderful...no annoying dinner time calls!  So far, we haven't experienced a downside.


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## ladyknight33 (Feb 2, 2009)

I have both and I have an old fashion corded phone. I do have a cordless but during hurricane season and other power outages, I have a working phone.  I don't have an answering machine  but I do have caller ID so i can see who has called and if I want to call them back. I  only share my cell phone number with friends and family.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

We dropped our land line five or six years ago and have never looked back.


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## Trilby (Jul 26, 2009)

I have a both. I use to the cell to keep in touch with family and also the people I work for. I don't do the contract cell phones,..I use StraightTalk.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

My husband and I are a cell phone only family.

My parents share a cell phone and wanted to give up their land line. My dad was concerned that my mom would be at home without a phone at times. They just turned 70. Dad purchased a Magic Jack at Walmart for $40. $20 of that was for a years worth of phone service. He says it will be $20 a year after that. He can call anywhere in the US and Canada. It runs through their computer but rings to a telephone. Which is great since my mom doesn't even know how to turn on a computer. They have had it for 2 months now. He says it works great and that they have good reception.

It was PC Magazines 2008 Product of the Year... http://www.magicjack.com


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## Jaasy (Feb 28, 2009)

I have both and can't imagine not having a house phone.  My alarm system is hooked up to it plus I'm old-fashioned, if that's the word, about not leaving my house cut off phone-wised...


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## ellesu (Feb 19, 2009)

Being able to give only family and friends my cell number, and give service people, etc the land line number was my main reason for not cutting the land line.  But when Gustav hit (and brought a tree through our house) that benefit ended because we had to give so many people (insurance, contractors, etc) our cell numbers.  Once I started giving people other than family and friends my cell number I got used to it and find myself doing it more and more.  I'm leaning toward cutting the land line and making sure we have a way to charge our cells if/when power's lost.  The alarm system would make a difference IF we had one.  We probably should but....   Thanks for the input!


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## Addie (Jun 10, 2009)

sharyn said:


> Me, too. That and the gate at the front of the subdivision. I need land lines for both of those.


Me, three! Plus, if I have to give my phone number (like when opening a store CC or whatever) to a business, I always use the land line. A solicitor can call my land line, and I don't care. But if a solicitor ever called my cell phone, I would be very annoyed.


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

we have both - hubby is retired from the phone company so you can't beat the price   Oh and we have a fax line too which is a pain in the neck because the area code changed so that is listed before our regular number

My thing is I like being able to be away from the phone and if everyone was calling on my cell I couldn't go anywhere without it ringing


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

I would check with your landline carrier to see if they still provide the ability to dial 911 if your service has been disconnected. Some states require it by law, others don't. Here is an article from Consumer Reports on the issue.

I can tell you from more than 10 years experience as a 911 dispatcher, you NEED to have access to call 911 from your landline. I wouldn't even trust VOIP or digital phone service from your cable company for 911 purposes because many of them have issues with providing your *correct & current* address to your emergency services dispatch center.

I have had many calls over the years where I hear nothing, or hear heavy breathing, or even screaming, but did not get an address from the caller verbally. If these types of calls are received from a cellphone, there is *almost nothing* I can do to help you. The cellphones will provide an approximate location, but often can be blocks away from where the caller actually is. Even if the estimated location is exact, what happens if you're calling from inside an apartment building, or a high rise, or if the trouble is inside a darkened, and apparently quiet house. The police aren't going to go door to door to ask if everything is all right.

Keep a landline at all costs, if you ever *truly* need it, you'll be glad it's there.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I have a land line for three reasons: DSL, TiVo, and my security system. But I have a cell phone that goes everywhere I do and I would happily give up the land line completely if I could.

Mike


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

having a phone line for emergency use (aka 911) is $10/mo where I live. I think is well worth it for my safety and protection. heaven help me if I needed it and didnt have it. I do have cell service too.


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## Laurie (Jan 9, 2009)

My husband wanted to get rid of the land line. I was against it. My fear being that if my teenage daugher (who has a medical condition) was in an accident - especially somewhere away from home - emergency responders, police, hospitals... wouldn't be able to contact us. You can't look up a cell phone number. They could contact our local police who could notify us, but that would take time and she has a rare medical condition and any delay in treatment could be fatal. I want any police department or hospital anywhere to see her name and address and be able to find our number.


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## Sariy (Jan 18, 2009)

Have both.  Required for the husband.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Both.  Cell(s) to keep tabs on the kids at college.  Landline...everyone else.

Funny though:  I didn't have a cell for the longest time...First day I got it we had 2 emergencies where it was warranted:

1:  Dead Battery at Soccer Practice...had to call for jump.
2.  Summons to get my A** home ASAP; son just stepped in a bee's nest 5 stings.


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## sherylb (Oct 27, 2008)

Both. 
DH has been a cell phone addict from the get go and always has the latest and greatest, but I made do with a Motorola Startac until I was forced to change by Verizon. The main reason I have a cell phone is so my Mom can get ahold of me any time, any place.
We keep the landline for the computer but the ringer is turned off. We just got so tired of the telemarketers we choose not to deal with them. Anyone who really needs to contactg us knows our cell phone numbers.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I  only share my cell phone number with friends and family. 

exactly. I don't give my cell out to just anyone. 

For tivo we use the wireless router though.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

I have both.  The landline is basic service only, no caller ID, no long distance plan.  (I need to keep it because I live at the bottom of a hill and cell phone coverage is lousy until I walk about three houses uphill.)  

Luckily almost all overseas family members and friends now finally use email, so international calling plans are no longer a necessity, and domestic long distance calls are on the cell phone.  That has whatever the minimum minutes currently are, and I still don't use them all.   And I can count the people to whom I've given the cell phone number on my fingers.   But I like having it along when I'm driving someplace with DD, to call for help in case the car breaks down or something.  Situations like that are not a big deal alone, but with a child along I just feel safer with a cell phone.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

We have 2 cell phones. Both are blue tooth, so I bought a device that allows me to use our regular phones when at home. I have the fax machine linked with it also. We both travel so much that we take our cell phone with us and that is what family, friends and work call us on.


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## Reyn (Feb 10, 2009)

We are a 4 cell phone family only.  My DH, 12 year old twins and I each have one.  The police car in the driveway is the security system around here.  I cancelled the landline about 2 years ago with no regrets.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

We're a cell phone only family and have been for a couple of years now. I couldn't justify the cost of it anymore. We only had it for the fax machine, now if I need to fax something, I either do it from work (manager doesn't mind as long as we don't abuse it) or run to Staples. 

Even with 4 cellphones, it's cheaper than we were paying with both cell and land lines.


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## sheltiemom (Dec 28, 2008)

Because of the way my TV, internet, and landline are bundled, it only costs about $5 a month for the landline so I still have it.  About one in 25 calls is a real call.  My boys have cell phones and we use mobile to mobile. They have also gotten me in the habit of texting.  When I am making plans or arranging things, I don't have to find a pen and paper to write the information.  Chances are I will drop my landline in the near future, especially if the cost increases.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Yes, we text a lot! It's so much easier, and none of us really like talking on the phone. We actually have been able to lower our plan minutes because of increased texting. I'm probably in closer contact with all of them with the texting than I would be with just the cell phones.


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## ellesu (Feb 19, 2009)

The 911 issue is something to think about.  I assumed a cell phone could be traced as easily as your home phone.  Ummmm....

My family texts a LOT, too.  A while back I read an article in the NYT where the author was insisting on leaving voice mails for his college aged kids.  Problem was, his kids thought getting to voice mail was a hassel.  They much preferred texts.  The dad/author was stubbornly refusing to text because--he was paying the bill.    He soon changed once he realized how quickly his kids responded to a texts over a voice mail.  Funny how our kids can train us if we aren't careful.  I'm still slow at texting but getting better.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

sheltiemom said:



> Because of the way my TV, internet, and landline are bundled,


We have both; but when I was looking into stopping the landline to reduce the package cost, our home alarm company told us that they could provide a satellite uplink for an installation charge and then only an additional $10/mo charge. Over a year the cost savings would have been a wash.
Don't want to give up the cable TV at this time, so we haven't done anything about canceling the landline portion yet.
We could fax from the internet if necessary.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

Good point on the 911 Jason.  If we had the 911 here, it would be a good reason to keep the land line, which we have anyway.  Our internet is connected to the phone company so no choice.    Also for older folks (who me?) 911 is valuable.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

For years I only had a cell phone and then my husband began working our of our home office and that required some type of phone that would work in our basement so we added a Vontage phone and have been doing just fine with it. We needed it anyway for our alarm system. However, for the purposes of 911 and all that we did get a small UPS that powers our cable modem, phone router and all the things that keep our home phone up in the event of bad weather.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Besides the 911 issue (for us) there's also the hurricane issue (I'd forgotten that) - we could lose landline, we could lose cell.  Hopefully we wouldn't lose both.  We also keep an old-school corded phone - if the power goes out the cordless phones won't work.  Cell will in a normal power outage of a few hrs, but in case of a hurricane & extended power outage, that becomes a maybe.  Eventually, though, my husband will probably win and we'll end up with no land line.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

ellesu - thanks for asking this question, I've been contemplating the same thing.

To summarize what I have read in the last two pages:
1) there are people you don't want to (or can't) get rid of their land line for various reasons.  Like
    - tivo
    - security systems
    - 911 ease of mind
    - power outage/emergency ease of mind  (seems to be an issue in hurricane areas)
    - just because 
    - and other stuff
2) of those who have given up their landline - nobody has said they regret it

I think I'm leaning towards getting rid of the land line.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

A question for those with ONLY a cell phone:

What do you do on things like credit card applications or other stuff where it might result in a marketing call?  Do you give your cell phone number?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

kim said:


> ellesu - thanks for asking this question, I've been contemplating the same thing.
> 
> To summarize what I have read in the last two pages:
> 1) there are people you don't want to (or can't) get rid of their land line for various reasons. Like
> ...


And then there's weirdo me, who only has a landline and refuses to get a cell (or blackberry, or palm, or treo....)


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

I have both, but really the land line is just because of a giant What If..like what if we ever have to call 911? There's a delay when using a cell phone, land line they get the address right off the bat. And combined with our DSL the land line is cheap, so we hang onto it.

Truthfully, I don't like talking on the phone, but I oddly really like texting...


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

We have both.  Although in a minority, I use my land line more than my cell.  I love being able to use a cell phone, but my use is infrequent at best.  So infrequent that I have a Tracfone -- buy a year's service with about 500 minutes, same for my husband.  I rarely use the 500 minutes in a year, although my husband does use more minutes.  Our poor li'l cell phones aren't very glamorous, but they get the job done.  I must also add that this is a very economical way to have a cell phone.


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## tessa (Nov 1, 2008)

We have  both cell and land lines .  If the electric goes out the land line still works. On 911 the cells phone were screwed up and no service for hours.  Living on Long Island you really need both.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

kim said:


> A question for those with ONLY a cell phone:
> 
> What do you do on things like credit card applications or other stuff where it might result in a marketing call? Do you give your cell phone number?


Yes. As I posted earlier, we gave up our land line five or six years ago. For all those years we've listed my cell phone number as our home phone wherever a home phone number is asked for--medical info, banking/credit card stuff, utility companies, etc. I get VERY few marketing calls, and no political or charitable solicitation calls at all. If I had to guess, I'd say we average less than ten unwanted calls per year. It's wonderful to not have a stupid phone ringing all the time!

I'm assuming there are different regulations for "junk" calls on cell phones. There's got to be some explanation for it, because back when we had a land line, our phone was constantly ringing with unwanted calls.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

You can go to www.donotcall.gov and list any phone number whether land line or cell number.  Spammer calls will stop.  Political and charitable organizations can still call.

I think, various internet rumors notwithstanding, that there is no 'cell phone directory' anyway so listing a cell number might be overkill.  Listing your land line number is just smart.

Unless you like talking to telemarketers. 

My brother likes to get calls from the opposite political party. .  . . . he'll keep 'em on the line courteously debating them for a half hour or more.  If they act like they want to hang up he asks them something else.  Finally, they usually say something like, "so we can count on your support?"  and he says, "oh, no.  I'm voting for the other guy."  If they ask why he was willing to discuss issues for so long he says, "It's that many fewer other calls you can make."


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

Most of my family in Hawaii ditched the home line years ago. Meanwhile my mother insists we keep the land line. She has a tendency to freak out over minutes on our cells, but we average 200-300 minutes (have 700) a month. Keep trying to tell my parents that the vast majority of the family has the same cell service as us and we aren't charged for the minutes we use to call them. Thus there is no point in paying for a landline with unlimited long distance. Mom is the only one that actually uses the house phone and the rest of us only use the house phone for its intercom feature.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

The Do Not Call list works to keep companies that you don't have an established relationship with from calling you at random.  But it doesn't prevent all unwanted calls.  For example, any time you give your personal info to a company or organization, you're giving them permission to call you.  So publishers of magazines that you get, credit card companies, any store you've ever walked into and filled out an entry form for a prize drawing, etc.----they're exempt from Do Not Call requirements.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

That's true, Pawz. . . .all I know is when we signed up the random calls stopped.  The ones we get now from organizations we do business with I don't mind so much.  They're not that often, and if I say, "please take me off your calling list, we prefer to be contacted by e-mail or USPS," they always agree.  They've already got my business and want to keep it.

I do get a little annoyed at the charitable calls when they say "thank you for your past support" and I know we've never given them a dime.  Depending on my mood I'll let them get through their spiel, but usually I just say, "excuse me, I'm not interested, please remove me from your calling list, thank you."  And then I hang up.  They do have to remove you for a year if you ask.

Another good trick is to start talking and hang up in the middle of your own sentence.  They'll almost never call back because they just assume you had a problem at your end.  I mean, who hangs up while they're talking?


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Another good trick is to start talking and hang up in the middle of your own sentence. They'll almost never call back because they just assume you had a problem at your end. I mean, who hangs up while they're talking?


A friend of mine listed her Dog's name rather than hers and when people called and asked for her dog she handed the phone to her 4 year old...amazingly enough the number of calls she got decreased.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> My brother likes to get calls from the opposite political party. . . . . he'll keep 'em on the line courteously debating them for a half hour or more. If they act like they want to hang up he asks them something else. Finally, they usually say something like, "so we can count on your support?" and he says, "oh, no. I'm voting for the other guy." If they ask why he was willing to discuss issues for so long he says, *"It's that many fewer other calls you can make."*


Thank your brother for me!


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I recently had a potential problem with a credit card.  I got a replacement card and when trying to activate it they wanted a US land line phone number.  Not having one (my "official" address in the US only has a cell phone) they then wanted to talk to someone with the same last name as mine who could verify my phone number in Mexico.  So depending on cost, it might be worth it to keep a land line, also for the 911 aspect.


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## mistyd107 (May 22, 2009)

I have both but only because until recently the only choice I had for internet was dialup.  Since then I keep it for emergency only as a matter of fact this reminds me I actually need to get a phone for the line.


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## VictoriaP (Mar 1, 2009)

This is the reason we still have a land line. When I had to reach 911 a year ago, they read the address to me, not the other way around. Let me tell you, when you're dealing with a medical emergency and you're panicked, you're lucky if you can remember your own name, let alone your exact and correct address. And I'm actually relatively cool in a crisis!

On top of that, we had no cell service for a time following an earthquake a few years ago, but the land lines still worked. Power went out for a week during winter, same thing; cell towers that didn't work, and eventually cell phones with no charge left even though the now the cell sites were back online. All we did was plug a non wireless phone into the wall and we were back in touch.

There's absolutely no way I'd consider being without it, though we do in fact use our cell phones a lot more.



911jason said:


> I would check with your landline carrier to see if they still provide the ability to dial 911 if your service has been disconnected. Some states require it by law, others don't. Here is an article from Consumer Reports on the issue.
> 
> I can tell you from more than 10 years experience as a 911 dispatcher, you NEED to have access to call 911 from your landline. I wouldn't even trust VOIP or digital phone service from your cable company for 911 purposes because many of them have issues with providing your *correct & current* address to your emergency services dispatch center.
> 
> ...


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## lynninva (Feb 7, 2009)

This has been very informative.  My DH would like to discontinue our land line due to the cost.  My biggest concern has been 911 calls.  As much as I will miss caller ID, I think we will opt to go to the cheapest, basic plan to keep the land-line.


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## Cowgirl (Nov 1, 2008)

pidgeon92 said:


> I do still have both.... My house alarm is wired to the phone line, without the phone line the alarm would sound, but the alarm company would not be contacted. It is pretty much the only reason I keep the land line.


Same here!


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

I have both a cell phone and a "landline" aka home phone.

I have phone service through ooma and I pay *ZERO* for phone service ever.

It includes unlimited local and long distance , voicemail, call forwarding ,call waiting and so on.

Unlike MagicJack ,ooma actually works , sounds clear and I don't pay $20 a year lol.

p.s. 911 is no problem with ooma



http://www.ooma.com/


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I was just going to post asking if anyone had ooma. How long have you had it Sugar?


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## gadgetgirl003 (Mar 22, 2009)

Sugar said:


> I have both a cell phone and a "landline" aka home phone.
> 
> I have phone service through ooma and I pay *ZERO* for phone service ever.
> 
> ...


Sugar, After seeing your post, I researched Ooma. It looks very interesting. I may get it. Thanks


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

We have a land line and two cell phones. We only keep the land line because it is part of a bundle deal.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Thanks for the info Sugar. My DH has a hard time with the Blue Tooth device I bought. He carries his cell phone in his pocket and gets disconnected. I think this might be a good Christmas present for him.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Rasputina said:


> I was just going to post asking if anyone had ooma. How long have you had it Sugar?


I've had it for about 7 months. My Mom has had it for over a year now.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

gadgetgirl003 said:


> Sugar, After seeing your post, I researched Ooma. It looks very interesting. I may get it. Thanks


Glad to help.It's a great service.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

Kathy said:


> Thanks for the info Sugar. My DH has a hard time with the Blue Tooth device I bought. He carries his cell phone in his pocket and gets disconnected. I think this might be a good Christmas present for him.


yw Kathy.It would make a great gift, and then of course there is the gift of no phone bill.


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## lynninva (Feb 7, 2009)

I think we will check into this also. In case anyone else is thinking of buying it, here is a link to the system on Amazon:


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

So you have to have high speed internet to use Ooma, right?  It doesn't work just with the phone line?  I never heard of it before, and thought it might be a solution for my friend's vacation home, but he doesn't have high speed internet there.

Betsy


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## Kind (Jan 28, 2009)

I have both a land line and a cell phone. Many of my friends have given up their land lines. Saves money, no marketing phone calls, ability to not bother you by putting it on silent mode.


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## kim (Nov 20, 2008)

Sugar said:


> p.s. 911 is no problem with ooma


I've only dug into this a little bit so far... it sounds like ooma works with E911. But I don't think Enhanced 911 is in very many places yet. I haven't found a web site yet that tells where E911 is available. Does anyone know how to find out?

I'm assuming that if your area does not have Enhanced 911 service, that ooma will not relay an address to emergency dispatch.


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## sigrosenblum (Dec 22, 2008)

It seems to me that the younger set favors the the cell phone and the oldsters like both. On the other hand, we have a friend well up in her seventies who dumped her land line long ago.

As for us, we feel comfortable with both. It's nice to be able to ask for directions to a restaurant with the cell phone when we are in the car. And we feel safer with the cell when we are out in strange country in the wee hours. AAA is just a click away. 

But for long relaxed conversations--my wife's specialty with a niece on the west coast--the land line is the phone of choice. Most of my chatting is e-mail.


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## suicidepact (May 17, 2009)

I have both, the land line is tied to my home DSL with VOIP capabilities & 911. I can fully manage the phone from my computer anywhere in the world, which is nice. The land line is basically for basic local calls, 911, and for threatening any telemarketers. I have a strict policy of with telemarketers: if you call me, you are a target of ALL my aggression. It's therapeutic for me and perfectly legal if they call you.


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## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

I have both.  Given a choice I would MUCH rather talk on a Land Line than a cell phone.  A Cell Phone is nice when you're out and about but when I'm home I'll take the Land Line anytime....
jp


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## suicidepact (May 17, 2009)

One other note I'll add about why I have a land line, I have an old-fashioned rotary dial phone in case of emergency. It won't run out of batteries and will still have service unless the phone lines are physically cut down.

(On a funny note my post count is 411 as of this post. And I never think to look at things like that.)


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

have to have a land line due to my husband responds to those emergencies many of you are talking about (I have learned to sleep through the phone) we also have cell phones but no reception at home only in town 5-6 miles away. we had a dial phone for that power outage problem my son years ago decided to see how it works. we have a medium age one now that takes no power - those are getting harder to find.
sylvia


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

We still have both.  DH does a lot of conference calls from home and he gets a more consistent quality from the landline.  He also likes that headset better than the one for the cell phone.  I do have lots of friends that have gone over to just cell phones.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

I wish that the cell phones would work at my house as we don't have long distance on landline. as said above have to keep landline dew to husbands work.
sylvia


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

We also have both.  Cell coverage has improved a lot, but our house still doesn't get great cell reception plus DHs clients can't call collect (required from the county jail) to the cell.  I also like the unlimited long-distance on the land line rather than keeping track of cell phone minutes or paying the bigger costs of an unlimited cell plan.  I spend at least an hour a day (usually more) talking with two sisters and Mom out of town.  Our kids have cell phones only in their homes and no plans no add a land line ever and mother-in-law (75) just eliminated her land line of 40 years and went to cell phone only so I don't think it is a generational habit at all.  Glad we have options!


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## webhill (Feb 12, 2009)

911jason said:


> I can tell you from more than 10 years experience as a 911 dispatcher, you NEED to have access to call 911 from your landline. I wouldn't even trust VOIP or digital phone service from your cable company for 911 purposes because many of them have issues with providing your *correct & current* address to your emergency services dispatch center.


You know, I asked my local police about that, and they told me to go ahead and CALL 911 from my VOIP line to test whether they were getting valid ANI - not to worry about being charged with making a phony 911 call or anything. So I did, and it turned out the 911 center did in fact get my correct location from my VOIP line. FWIW. I'm sure each company is different but you can always test it out.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

webhill said:


> You know, I asked my local police about that, and they told me to go ahead and CALL 911 from my VOIP line to test whether they were getting valid ANI - not to worry about being charged with making a phony 911 call or anything. So I did, and it turned out the 911 center did in fact get my correct location from my VOIP line. FWIW. I'm sure each company is different but you can always test it out.


That's a good plan Webhill, and I'm sure most companies do a good job of keeping their records accurate. The two main problems I've seen with VOIP are: 1) people start up VOIP service and then move without notifying their VOIP provider. Therefore the 911 call goes to the agency that provides service to the old address and also shows the dispatcher that you are calling from that address. 2) Some VOIP providers have their own 911 dispatchers who take all of the information from you and then THEY call the local 911 center for you. Not good!

I will say that as VOIP is becoming more and more popular, I think the industry will continue making improvements to the way they handle emergency calls.


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## KCFoggin (Nov 5, 2008)

Just found this thread.

I have both mainly because I am in a hurricane prone area and cell towers are usually the first to go.  I did, however, drop long distance from my land line and you would not believe how much cheaper it is when you are not  paying all associated fees that go with long distance calling.  I use the cell phone for long distance calls.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

LINK --> *OOMA DEAL ON AMAZON* <--LINK

Amazon has Ooma VoIP Hub and Scout Phone System + $30 Credit for future Amazon purchases for $189.99 with free shipping. Next best price on Google Products for just the Ooma including shipping is $228. Don't forget you also get $30 Amazon gift card on top of that $30 savings...


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

That offer on Amazon is very tempting.  

If Sugar or anyone else who has Ooma sees this, can you tell me if your phone reception is as good as any other land line?  I'm thinking it must be, since it's not a cell phone, but I just wanted to ask anyway.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> That offer on Amazon is very tempting.
> 
> If Sugar or anyone else who has Ooma sees this, can you tell me if your phone reception is as good as any other land line? I'm thinking it must be, since it's not a cell phone, but I just wanted to ask anyway.


The reception has been super. I have never had any issues with how I sound or how the person on the other end sounds.

I asked everyone I called for awhile, as trust me I was leery because I had Vonage at one time and it was horrible, absolutely horrible.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

911jason said:


> LINK --> *OOMA DEAL ON AMAZON* <--LINK
> 
> Amazon has Ooma VoIP Hub and Scout Phone System + $30 Credit for future Amazon purchases for $189.99 with free shipping. Next best price on Google Products for just the Ooma including shipping is $228. Don't forget you also get $30 Amazon gift card on top of that $30 savings...


That is an excellent deal!


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

We have a landline only because my wife says she can't hear as well on cellphones


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Sugar, thanks for letting me know how it is.


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> Sugar, thanks for letting me know how it is.


Your welcome.


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## corkyb (Apr 25, 2009)

I went to look at the offer and it expired.  It's now#225 and I don't think you get the scout with it.  You do still get the $30 Amazon gift certificate though


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