Spinoff of Toll Free Thread: Do you still have a landline?

[Gumbo4x4]

Yes, and it's ridiculous. Our internet service provider is the local telephone company, and for some inane reason they won't let you buy an internet-only package, you have to have a landline (and no, it's not dial-up).

Fidelity? We're in the same boat. Landline is a requirement for DSL.

 

[melanielll]

Yes - and I have no plans to get rid of it.

 

[JaneBanks]

Yes, we have Verizon Triple Play. I like having both options of cell and landline so we have no plans on getting rid of it as well.

 

[Lynne M]

Yes, because I live in a high-rise and it's tied into the access system for the lobby door. I wouldn't be able to open the door for my guests without it. My mom lives in a senior community and they require landlines for the same reason.

I prefer talking on a landline handset anyway. I can't hold an iPhone between my shoulder and my ear, and those little earbud things are a pain.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

Yes, VOIP. I have a cell phone but hate using it.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Yes, we do have a landline with a corded phone plugged into a phone jack but it's tied to our FIOS hook up. I believe the battery back up will give us 8 hours of power in the event of a power loss.

That being said, we primarily use our cell phones and almost any call coming in on the house phone is a solicitor, the IRS demanding money or some survey.

 

[Erzengel]

I gave it up when I went to Direct TV.

For years I had some sort of triple play with Optimum or Fios.

With DirectTV, I was paying for just cable and kept Fios as my internet but dropped the phone.

 

[rastahomie]

Fidelity? We're in the same boat. Landline is a requirement for DSL.

Nope, Steelville Telephone Exchange, and the ISP is called MISNet (Meramec Interactive Something Something).

 

[kimblebee]

No, we all just have cell phones. And like a landline, mine works, too, when the power goes out.

 

[Wendy31]

No, we all just have cell phones. And like a landline, mine works, too, when the power goes out.

As long as it's charged!

But we only have our cell phones too.

 

[soccerdad72]

Yes, still have one. Mostly because we've been too lazy to cancel it.

 

[bcla]

We have a landline through Ooma. It's ridiculously cheap and I like having another option besides cell.

Ooma is technically VoIP though. A lot of people (not all of course) only consider a "landline" to be the traditional phone service that goes through an analog copper wire to a specific location set up by the phone company. The thing about most VoIP systems is that the box can be set up anywhere as long as there's an internet connection. I've received assorted calls that I know came from South Asia, but where it was showing up as coming from Virginia or Arkansas. IRS (and other tax agency) scams often run on VoIP to give the impression that they're coming from the recipient's country. When I was reading about one particular bust in the US, the indictment included information that they had purchased dozens of Magic Jack boxes that had been shipped to India.

I know a lot of landlines had been modified over the years. It was traditionally a single copper wire connection from the phone company switching office to your house and if a particular neighborhood had a lot of connections there would be many bundles of these wires. But these days (and it's been done for over 3 decades) it may be a digital fiber optic line where the data is converted to electrical signals before reaching the home/office. Those are considerably more efficient uses of utility equipment.

 

[bcla]

Fidelity? We're in the same boat. Landline is a requirement for DSL.

It might be possible to get a "dry line". My parents ordered VoIP and then AT&T cancelled their traditional copper wire landline. The only problem was that they had DSL (which got automatically cancelled) through that landline, and without it they had no way to use their VoIP box. They were on the phone and an agent looked up the possibility of a "dry line" but then found out that they couldn't support it in their neighborhood. So they ended up ordering U-Verse from AT&T for their internet service. And it was weird too since they just patched the U-verse line into their existing phone wiring for convenience.

I think one of the issues is that a lot of these large phone companies don't want to support DSL any more. I don't even think it's possible to order it in my neighborhood, and existing connections are just for legacy subscribers.

 

[lanejudy]

Yep, and it is our main number. My cell is provided by my work, for my work; I prefer not to give it out for private/personal use. Doctor's offices, school, family, friends, car mechanic, etc. -- all call on the landline home phone.

 

[Mermaid02]

No- just cell phones.

 

[gillep]

I am required to have one for my job because I work remotely, I use it for work only, I really dislike it as it rings constantly from telemarketers, if I could get rid of it I would.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It might be possible to get a "dry line". My parents ordered VoIP and then AT&T cancelled their traditional copper wire landline. The only problem was that they had DSL (which got automatically cancelled) through that landline, and without it they had no way to use their VoIP box. They were on the phone and an agent looked up the possibility of a "dry line" but then found out that they couldn't support it in their neighborhood. So they ended up ordering U-Verse from AT&T for their internet service. And it was weird too since they just patched the U-verse line into their existing phone wiring for convenience.

I think one of the issues is that a lot of these large phone companies don't want to support DSL any more. I don't even think it's possible to order it in my neighborhood, and existing connections are just for legacy subscribers.

AT&T has an agreement NOT to service my area, so that complicates things.

 

[Micca]

DW works from home and a land line is required for that. We also sometimes use the intercom function when I'm in the mancave & she's upstairs working. Otherwise we'd probably drop the land line as it doesn't get used a great deal for non-business purposes.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

No-our house was built with no landlines period. A thing that is becoming more common in new build construction in my area. You can still do landlines but it's harder since the house wasn't built for that in mind.

My mom got rid of her landline a few years ago and my in-laws several years before my mom did. Ironically getting a hold of my in-laws is harder now because they don't tend to have their cell phones with them. That isn't the case for my mom. Usually she has a harder time getting a hold of me but that's because my cell phone is on silence more often than not.

At this time we do not not a VoIP either just cell phones.

 

[bcla]

AT&T has an agreement NOT to service my area, so that complicates things.

Well - I forgot to say that in our area, AT&T is the local phone company. So I was referring to them cutting the local phone line that they supported for decades of my parents living there. It was the whole Pacific Bell/SBC/AT&T company via the Bell System breakup and then acquisitions. They also don't want to service DSL any more. They're actually setting up fiber all around here. I was taking my kid to a summer camp and for a couple of weeks there was an AT&T technician near there working on fiber optic equipment including splicing the actual fiber.