Shopping Discussion

Getting a land line

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  • Aug 26th, 2016 10:47 am
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Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2006
31271 posts
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Akaz1976 wrote: Key is easy to use and maintain and ability to make long ditance calls cheap.

They have used vonage in the past but it seems all options are 30-40 range with free NA calling plus cost of LD to other locations.
Once you're set up, there's very little (or rather none) maintenance.
Let's start with call volume. A pay as you go provider like voip.ms may not make sense if your call volume is thousands or tens of thousands a minute a month.
Do you not have anything else to do rather than argue with strangers on the internet
Nope. That's why I'm on the internet arguing with strangers. If I had anything better to do I'd probably be doing it.
Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2006
31271 posts
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Hot Ice wrote:
ALLCAPS wrote:
gnuman wrote: Everyone and their pet has a cellphone in case of emergency.
...and those phones have unlimited battery supply, right?
Also you could buy a ups and plug your modem, ATA and cordless or regular phone and would be good for a few hours
That's true. I have two UPSs pretty much for that exactly purpose. However, not everyone has the ability to go out and buy a UPS at 6:00pm when the power goes out, and of course, after those few hours of yours, what are you going to do then?
I was with Bell until one day when someone damaged the bell box at the corner, it took Bell a week to get my number back and during that time, I was getting other people's phone call and what not while they are trying to reconnect those wires at the box. Calling Bell for status fall on deaf ears, there is no response and they don't know what the status is. I switched to VOIP and haven't look back since.
I mean to be fair, if your phone is out your DSL is probably going to be out as well.
The short of it is that today with multiple communications options there's no reason to pick one and defend it.
VoIP is awesome as long as you have internet. Cell is awesome in an emergency. Landlines are still good for... something?
The last blackout in Toronto, coincidentally, we're at the cusp of the anniversary too :), Rogers, Bell and everyone was out of service. Yes, Bell land line last the longest before it went out of power but it too was not available. If you have old people living in the house, then yes, it's a bit of extra insurance for 911 availability in case of power outage, but having an old cell phone always plugged in should allow you call 911 for at least a full day on standby when the power goes out.
If I were a business I'd get a landline solely for the purpose of 911 and maybe faxes.
Every other phone call would get pushed through VoIP and my PBX.
Rig it so any IP phone that dials 911 seizes the landline.

Also if you have any sort of modernish phone and don't use the screen, you can get a week easily.
Probably more if you have a basic non touch phone with a new battery.
Do you not have anything else to do rather than argue with strangers on the internet
Nope. That's why I'm on the internet arguing with strangers. If I had anything better to do I'd probably be doing it.
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Jan 3, 2014
3252 posts
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Vancouver(ish)
death_hawk wrote: This makes up less people that have a landline phone.
...don't quite understand this one. Sorry. :-)
Also when was the last time you changed your battery?

Actually replaced my first UPS just a few weeks ago. Decided to replace the unit instead of just the battery because there's no guarantee that the internal workings aren't also worn as a result of all the power changes it handled over the years.
Most people buy a UPS once and forget about it so when it comes time for use, the battery is shot and can't hold a charge.

Yup. :-)
My point is, very few people are ready with a hard line phone.

Just as very few people are ready with even a basic emergency kit, home insurance or jumper leads for their cars. Doesn't stop them from going out and spending a few dollars to buy a basic analogue phone to have so they can plug it in if they need it.
If you have provisions to keep a cordless alive, there's no reason you can't use VoIP.

That's true. But considering the modem and/or router also requires an in-house source of electricity, there's another potential point of failure.
For one, who would go out and buy one during a blackout.

...the same people who buy shovels in the middle of a snow storm. :)
This is something you prepare for ahead of time. But that's the issue, no one prepares ahead of time.

Yup.
In an emergency situation, a cell phone would probably be better anyway. Most cell phones last a couple days as long as you don't turn on the screen.

...but who's going to do that? :) People will be too busy posting on Facebook that they don't have power, checking their Email, maybe even watching some Youtube for entertainment because they think it's only going to be a short outage.
If your power is out for that long, you have bigger issues at hand.
Agreed...but at least I can (in all likelihood) call the electric company's information line to check on the status. :)
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Sep 5, 2005
1220 posts
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death_hawk wrote: I mean to be fair, if your phone is out your DSL is probably going to be out as well.
The short of it is that today with multiple communications options there's no reason to pick one and defend it.
VoIP is awesome as long as you have internet. Cell is awesome in an emergency. Landlines are still good for... something?
Landlines are still good, I don't disagree. Voip and internet are not as reliable for sure, there are latency issues, dns outages, these things even UPS doesn't help you; but, I do have total control of my phone number through VOIP, while I didn't have a chance with Bell. It knows when to call forwarding to multiple cell phones when the VOIP service is not active. At any rates, we no longer have to depend on Bell with so many other options available. While not as robust as a landline, multiple backup options exists as long as you know to utilize them properly.
I bought myself a few UPS and a generator after living through multiple blackouts. As you grow older as well as having kids, you tend to do multiple things to be sure of safety and security.
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Jul 15, 2003
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ALLCAPS wrote:
If your power is out for that long, you have bigger issues at hand.
Agreed...but at least I can (in all likelihood) call the electric company's information line to check on the status. :)
Yes a POTS landline is a reliable way to have this ability.
But is it the best way to spend $360/year? (i'm assuming a landline costs around $30/month)

Get a cheap $70 UPS and plug it in somewhere. Don't hook anything up to it. In the unlikely event of a long term power outage you can use this fully charged UPS to charge your cellphone. There's you're emergency phone system. A one time $70 cost is a far cry better than $360/year.

For the OP, get a voip system for your parents as per other people's suggestions.
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Nov 10, 2015
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Monte Creek, BC
$20 a month for our landline, bundled through Telus.
I could drop it and get a second cell, but that would cost a lot more than $20.
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Deal Fanatic
Dec 19, 2009
6197 posts
4451 upvotes
death_hawk wrote: Please show me literally anyone nowadays with a hard line phone.
Why would someone have a death wish to hold a cancer stick next to their head or have it in their pocket next to their private parts. Just asking for mutations.
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Jul 15, 2003
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poleman wrote: $20 a month for our landline, bundled through Telus.
I could drop it and get a second cell, but that would cost a lot more than $20.
https://www.speakout7eleven.ca/prepaid- ... catel-871a

So $70 gets you a phone and your first year of emergency service. Then $25/ year after that.
Of course being this cheap only works if you never call on the phone since it charges $0.25/min.

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