Do you like not having a landline?

[momof3ds]

We have a security system that uses its own cell receptor through ADT.

Haven't had a landline in several years.

I know it works because I was attempting to test the smoke detector and it dialed the fire dept. had a truck outside in 5 minutes.

 

[3angelsmom]

Don't the telemarketers eventually just get your cell phone number?My landline is 85% telemarketers (even though I am on the National and State DNC list ) but they got my number from somewhere. Someone I gave it to some who sold it to them or they randomly generated it and waited for an answer and then sold the "live number". Won't the same thing happen to my cell phone? The last thing I want is telemarketer calls/texts on my cell phone and I'm willing to keep my landline number to give out to people I don't really know.

I *think* there are different regulations for landlines and cell lines. It makes sense because I used to get tons of telemarketers that I couldn't get rid of despite being on DNC, but haven't gotten a single call on my cell - just the occasional random text - in the 2 years I've had it and haven't changed my behavior any (e.g., I give out that # when its required for a survey, online purchase etc)

 

[kkandaj]

We haven't had a landline for several years, but I am thinking about getting one with just basic service--just for 911 service. I have "heard" that if you call from your cell and for some reason it gets disconnected, it would take much longer to locate your address--because they would have to ping the towers, instead of knowing the exact address of your landline. Also with young kids, if something happened to me or their father, it would be much easier for them to go to "the phone" that stays in the same place all the time and call 911, instead of having to search for my cell phone, figure out how to unlock it and call 911.

For some reason, I have really been thinking about this lately. I need to really research this and see if its true. If so, we will be adding a landline, but I think it's only like $8/month if we have nothing added but a basic line.

 

[Lisa71]

Our landline has one phone with a cord in case of emergency. It looks Iike the 911 problem is still there so glad I have it. It is bundled with our wireless for the bill.

 

[ssawka]

Because I have a network extender, it has its own GPS.

 

[mm1971]

I imagine lots of people have given up their landline and just use their cellphones.

I don't think we can because we have a package with the Cable company and the landline is included. But I need to check into that.

Unfortunately, yes we have a landline. I see no point in it, but my wife insists. Not really sure it makes sense, but if it makes her happy....well, you know.

 

[MomofKatie]

Don't the telemarketers eventually just get your cell phone number?My landline is 85% telemarketers (even though I am on the National and State DNC list ) but they got my number from somewhere. Someone I gave it to some who sold it to them or they randomly generated it and waited for an answer and then sold the "live number". Won't the same thing happen to my cell phone? The last thing I want is telemarketer calls/texts on my cell phone and I'm willing to keep my landline number to give out to people I don't really know.

I get maybe one telemarketing call every 6 months or so on my cell- and never from an actual person, just "robocalls". When we had a landline, we averaged 2-3 telemarketing calls per day. Have had our cellphones for more than 10 years, so telemarketers haven't caught on yet...

 

[girli565]

Haven't had a landline in over 4 years and don't miss it. But we do have a magic jack plus and have no problems with it! We have spoty cell service in the guest rooms at our house and my mom is disabled and in bed most days so we like to have something that is always on (because our internet is always on).

 

[Mommee]

We have one. It's not much more to have the service bundled with internet than it is to pay for stand-alone internet. I also worry about my youngest and her ability to find and use a cell in an emergency.There was a story in our paper last summer about a little boy who's dad went into diabetic shock and they didn't have a home phone. The boy couldn't find dad's cell phone (I guess it was in dad's pocket) so he hopped on his bike and rode to the beach to get his mom. He had no way to call for help. Thankfully the dad is ok

 

[Ephany]

We live in podunk nowhere. If we want internet, we have to have a phone line. Honestly, as long as DD's still home, I'm cool with it. It's the number I give to companies instead of my cell so it works out ok. We also have a corded phone just in case, as we lost power during a hurricane for a few days (pre-cell phone) and couldn't call anyone as all of our phones were cordless.

My sister once came home to an intruder, she called 911 and somehow it routed back to her home county where she had purchased the cell phone. It was a very frustrating conversation as she tried to give the dispatcher an address that didn't exist in that county. That was a few years ago, but it's always in the back of my mind.

My friend moved into a brand-new, shiny community a few years ago. After they moved in, they realized there was no phone service (not enough homes built). 2 years later they still don't have phones and therefore, no affordable internet. They never thought to ask before buying and are still mad at themselves.

 

[mrsklamc]

Unfortunately, yes we have a landline. I see no point in it, but my wife insists. Not really sure it makes sense, but if it makes her happy....well, you know.

Dave Ramsey says he has a budget category "SWI." - Sharon (his wife) Wants It.


If anyone does decide to go landline free, this is a helpful website for me:

wheresmycellphone.com

 

[smokeyblue]

I went to a prepaid cell 3 years ago and I have saved hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I live alone and talk on the phone very little so a regular phone plan was a huge waste on me.

I do have a cautionary tale regarding cable phone service. A little over a month ago a coworkers husband colapsed. She went to use their cable landline and it was dead; there was a planned, yet unannounced outage to do some maintenance. She was having problems with her cell phone charging so she had left it at work for telecom to look at the next day. She didn't know her husbands passcode, and had no idea how to use the emergency dial feature. After awhile she was able to get him to come to enough to give her the code and she was able to call 911. He was in ICU for a few days and he passed away.

It can't necessarily be said that if the phone was working that he would be alive, but it sure would have saved his wife those few extra tourtured moments. My point is make sure you keep a charged cell around if you have cable phone service and also make sure you either know the pass codes for your family or at least know how to bypass the code to make a 911 call.

I've thought about putting one of my old cell phones plugged in in my basement just in case I tripped and fell or something. You can still use them to make 911 calls.

 

[iheartmickey1111]

It's kind of dangerous NOT to have a landline and as an ex cop and ex 911 dispatcher, let me tell you why:
In the event there was some kind of emergency that you could not speak or speak well enough to tell the 911 dispatcher where you lived (choking, intruder, altercation,etc.) you would pretty much be screwed. On a landline, your address pops up on their computers automatically, so even before you can confirm your address, that dispatcher will have someone already on the way to your house. However, with a cell phone, you need to be able to tell them where you are because no address will automatically pop up. In the event that emergency services needs to use the GPS feature in your phone to find you, it's a time consuming process. So especially for examples like the ones above, it's actually pretty dangerous not to have a landline. With a landline though, even if you dial 911 and hangup, when they call you back if you don't answer, again, they WILL send someone out to check on you. When this happens with a cell phone, they try to call back and if you don't answer, they just assume it was a mis-dial. A lot of people probably don't think of things like that when considering whether or not to keep their landline, but hopefully you all will now!

 

[2manypets]

Don't the telemarketers eventually just get your cell phone number?My landline is 85% telemarketers (even though I am on the National and State DNC list ) but they got my number from somewhere. Someone I gave it to some who sold it to them or they randomly generated it and waited for an answer and then sold the "live number". Won't the same thing happen to my cell phone? The last thing I want is telemarketer calls/texts on my cell phone and I'm willing to keep my landline number to give out to people I don't really know.

I've gotten maybe 2 telemarketing calls on my cell in the last10 years. The only ones that called the land lines were telemarketers, usually from the phone company wanting me to pick up more services.

 

[2manypets]

I have "heard" even if you do not have home phone service if a phone is plugged into the jack, you can still dial 911. Don't know if its true but I am investigating dumping my home line, so i am going to look into this.

Most areas you can dial 911 with no service, we've had to test it out in the past unfortunately. Call you phone company to verify.

 

[robinb]

It's kind of dangerous NOT to have a landline and as an ex cop and ex 911 dispatcher, let me tell you why:
In the event there was some kind of emergency that you could not speak or speak well enough to tell the 911 dispatcher where you lived (choking, intruder, altercation,etc.) you would pretty much be screwed. On a landline, your address pops up on their computers automatically, so even before you can confirm your address, that dispatcher will have someone already on the way to your house. However, with a cell phone, you need to be able to tell them where you are because no address will automatically pop up. In the event that emergency services needs to use the GPS feature in your phone to find you, it's a time consuming process. So especially for examples like the ones above, it's actually pretty dangerous not to have a landline. With a landline though, even if you dial 911 and hangup, when they call you back if you don't answer, again, they WILL send someone out to check on you. When this happens with a cell phone, they try to call back and if you don't answer, they just assume it was a mis-dial. A lot of people probably don't think of things like that when considering whether or not to keep their landline, but hopefully you all will now!

It really does depend on your municipality. Here in Madison, WI if you dial 911 and don't respond to the dispatcher they will first call you back and if you don't answer they will send police and with GPS systems in most phones they can better pinpoint your location. No, it's not as good as a land line in the case of emergency, but in many municipalities it's not as bad as you're making it out to be.

 

[iheartmickey1111]

It really does depend on your municipality. Here in Madison, WI if you dial 911 and don't respond to the dispatcher they will first call you back and if you don't answer they will send police and with GPS systems in most phones they can better pinpoint your location. No, it's not as good as a land line in the case of emergency, but in many municipalities it's not as bad as you're making it out to be.

That may be, but I was simply speaking from years of experience in emergency services. People are naive if they think that just because they have a cell phone with GPS that help will magically arrive in the right place fast enough, and with so many 911 calls, those extra few minutes may mean the difference between life and death.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

When did those events happen? I heard that they now use your phone's GPS system to help pinpoint your location.

This event happened 2 years ago. Not all phones have GPS on them. I over see 100 cell phones for my office and they do not have GPS on them. We had a social worker take a group of kids on a camping trip and they got lost. They called 911 here in Cleveland and they were no able to locate them via GPS because as it turns out our phones don't have GPS

 

[ItsNotMuchofaTail]

I have VOiP through my cable bundle. I also pay $1/month for some sort of 911 device in my modem (?) that locates me if I dial 911 and hang up. I feel weird not having a landline, but it works ok. I won't go to only cell any time soon, I don't want that to be my main phone number. Using an old cell as "home" is a thought I guess, but as long as I have my DD at home I will keep the VOiP with the 911 thingy.

I considered hooking up the landline, but it seems so costly and I use the phone so seldom the return on the investment is pretty low.

 

[hsmamato2]

That may be, but I was simply speaking from years of experience in emergency services. People are naive if they think that just because they have a cell phone with GPS that help will magically arrive in the right place fast enough, and with so many 911 calls, those extra few minutes may mean the difference between life and death.

maybe so, but that is VERY expensive insurance..... think about it, I have to pay 40+ a month for a landline that gives me NOTHING (no LD,nothing) for the off chance that 911 might need that address..... that's over 500.00 per year. I see what you're saying but the rest of are saying we were tired of being ripped off. sorry,I'm going OT....