Thinking about dropping home phone --

[scbelleatheart]

Has anyone successfully transferred their home number to a new cell phone line? I was thinking about just adding a line to our cell plan and trying to move our home number to it, that way we could take it with us if needed and if anyone was calling the home phone, we would get the call. It would be far less expensive than what I currently pay for our home line.

We tranferred home phone to cell and we did not want to lose our phone numbers. No hassle with Verizon. Then we moved. Poor cell reception but the biggest reason we got a landline at our new home was the security system. Immediate calls to police, fire, 911. We got the cheapest plan, local only. So far no break-ins or fires but peace of mind.
Going OT, how do you deal with your home security systems without a land line? Our whole house is wired to it.

 

[SDSorority]

We're looking at all expenses right now -- DH has been out of work for 14 months. Currently, all four of us (including two teens) have cell phones, and we don't get too many calls on our home phone. DH wants to look at dropping the landline, but I'm not sure about how that would work! What do you put down on applications or other forms that ask for home phone? Did it cause any unforeseen problems? We actually have the smallest number of minutes on our cellphone plan available, but NEVER come near using them all up, and DH says we have tons of rollover minutes right now, so I'm not worried about that. I'd really like to hear anyone's experiences doing this. Thanks!

We haven't had a home phone for a year now and it has been just fine.

Next up.... cable.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

We dropped our landline about a year ago and never looked back. We had Vonage, so we were only paying about 25$ a month, but now that 25$ goes straight into savings!

 

[Ava]

I haven't had a landline phone for over 7 years, since I moved to NYC. I just use my cell phone number as my "home phone" on applications & such. Have never had a problem.

 

[MissAndrea]

I got rid of my home phone almost 6 years ago and never looked back. We got rid of cable 2 years ago and other than not being able to use our Tivo, we haven't really missed it either. I was a little uneasy about getting rid of my home phone but my husband (boyfriend at the time) who works on cell sites convinced me to do it. Never once had an issue. You can register your number with 911 if you are concerned about emergencies at home. And I've either put NA in home number section of apps or just put my cell in. Everytime I'd say, "I don't have a home line, just a cell" whoever was taking the info said it was no big deal and to just put the cell number.

 

[windycitymom]

We've had our landline with telephone number for 20 years so I hesitate to drop it completely. However, I have dropped to the lowest basic service which is around $16 a month (no caller ID, no minutes, nothing). I can make toll-free calls on the phone with no charge though. Incoming calls are free - outging calls are 40 cents a minute. Everyone has cell phones, so no one uses the landline to make calls.

I also get dropped calls all the time on my cell phone (ATT), so I just ask people to call me back on my home line. I also make all toll-free calls (credit card companies, insurance companies, etc.) on our home phone since I'm not charged for them, and those calls usually take up alot of minutes!

Our home phone was around $70 a month, but now it's around $35 since I also have internet too.

 

[eatatmidnight]

A couple of years ago, I was considering it. But in January 2009 we had some experience with a disaster (ice storm). The electricity and cell phone towers were out for over 1 week in a large portion of the region. The landline (AT&T) was only down for about 1 day. Cable services (tv, phone and internet) were not available for several days. At that time, I decided we would have a landline of some kind as long as it's available. So, my advice to you is to at least keep a basic landline.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

I would like to drop ours, but I have some sort of weird attachment to it I guess. I know a lot of people who have dropped theirs and are fine.

Seems like the only calls we get on the land like are political calls, surveys etc... it is really an annoyance. I definitely wouldn't want all that coming in on my cell phone. It is almost to the point where I won't even bother answering the land line phone.

 

[QT Pooh]

Yikes, not true! Once you cancel your phone service, your line is supposed to be disconnected at the phone company's central switching office (meaning that it would literally be a deal wire that isn't attached to anything). If you still had dial tone after you cancelled, it was a fluke.

That is normally true; however some states have a Do Not Disconnect policy, which means that the phone has a 'soft' dial-tone - only allowing the users to make emergency calls.

 

[malibuconlee]

I'm one of the few that keep our home phone. I like having it. I like not worrying about using all my minutes. I like that I can hear the phone all over the house. When we first moved into this house my cell rarely worked in the house. I had to go to the driveway to make a call. A new tower must have gone up or something, because a few months later it started working better.

I like that I don't have to carry the phone around in my pocket, otherwise I might not hear it if I'm on another level of the house.

People I know that have given up home phones and only have cell...well there are some peeves. One would make comments about friends being "peak minutes" people. She also would want to have LONG conversations via text. Just pick up the phone and call me!

We also have a small child. I like having the home phone when a sitter is here. I don't have to worry about if the sitter forget her phone, was grounded from using it, or if it was charged.

Other moms I ask about the sitter issue, well they didn't leave there kids with sitters!

Anyway, people are sometimes surprised we have a home phone, but I just like having that as an option. Plus we move often and our cel numbers are long distance calls since we don't change the number. Nice having a "local" number to use.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

We dropped our landline about 3 years ago. I made the "house" phone number my cell number. The cheapest plan was over $40 with taxes. It wasn't worth it to us. Our policy is anyone old enough to be home alone gets a cell phone. DD16 alread had hers and when DD11 started middle school we got her her own. DD8 is the only one without a phone, she uses mine if she needs it and is never home alone. In a couple years she will get her own phone.

We don't know too many with landlines anymore, probably cause the bills for a landline are so high around here.

 

[MissAndrea]

One thing to keep in mind, you can not judge everything based upon a "tower". A tower can house multiple carriers. But not every carrier may be on that particular tower. That is something you would have to find out from your cell phone provider. The only thing that you can see on the tower is the antenna's. There is an enormous amount of work going on at the bottom of those towers. If a cell company is on that tower, they will have a site at the bottom. All of the radios, wires, etc. are housed in cabinets (some covered in little huts). That is what my husband works on....all the complicated stuff in the cabinets. If commercial power goes out to a tower, the site will run on back up power so it will not fail immediately. This can vary depending on the equipment. All the sites my husband is responsible for will run for 24 hours after power goes out. This gives him time to get a generator to bring to that site so that it won't go down. Think of a laptop. It will continue to run even after you've unplugged it but the battery will eventually die. Occasionally a site will have a backup generator already onsite that will power it up until it runs out of fuel, then the batteries will take over until the generator is filled back up. During ice storms or disasters, other markets will come in and help bring in generators and fuel them until everything is back up and running. In the St. Louis case, the Kansas City market would have come in to help as long as KC didn't have their own ice storm to deal with. My husband works for the KC market and has gone to St. Louis during disasters. They even sent people to New Orleans after the hurricane. If you were unable to use your cell after the ice storm it could have been various other reasons as well. It could have actually been a telco issue. Whoever is providing the back haul could have been having issues which would have caused the site to be down. Having said all of that, I can not speak for all carriers. I know how my husbands company works and have a general idea for the other companies. He does NOT work for AT&T but I do know that AT&T does not work their technicians in the most efficient manner. My husband will run into them while working and I know that they are given a route everyday. If they pass a site that is down, too bad. They aren't allowed to stop and fix it because it's not on their route. I don't know for sure if the case is the same during disasters but after hearing all of their stories, I wouldn't put it past them.

I just wanted to give everyone a little detailed info on cell sites because the majority of the population does not know exactly how it works. I had no idea until I met my hubby 7 years ago and I've learned SO much since then. If anyone ever has any questions about it, I (well, he really) will answer them. Again, can't officially speak for all carriers or all markets for that matter, but we will have a pretty good idea if we don't know for sure.

 

[BoogasMom]

We tranferred home phone to cell and we did not want to lose our phone numbers. No hassle with Verizon. Then we moved. Poor cell reception but the biggest reason we got a landline at our new home was the security system. Immediate calls to police, fire, 911. We got the cheapest plan, local only. So far no break-ins or fires but peace of mind.
Going OT, how do you deal with your home security systems without a land line? Our whole house is wired to it.

Our security system is all transmitted via cellular signal now....no hardwired land line needed. It was through our landline but we had it switched so we could cancel our landline. The technician came out, made a few adjustments, and it's all fixed. And, it works because we had some guys in the house installing carpets and they were using some type of hot glue gun which was creating a small amount of smoke. This tripped the smoke detector and alarm and my DHs cell phone was ringing before I could make it downstairs to the alarm panel to put in the cancel code.

 

[ceemys]

I haven't had a land line for about 4 years now. It's a nice $20 a month in my pocket. I have a great plan on my cell phone and my daughter has her cell phone. No issues at all.

 

[rskbh00]

Dropped my land line and cable about 6 months ago since we have cell phones and instant netfilx and it helps us save about $200 a month. I am grateful we did it.

 

[tlh0726]

we have centurylink (sprint, embarq) for both our DSL internet and home phone.
Inquired about dropping our home phone and what we are currently paying as a bundled package would have been what I would be paying just for the internet.
Contacted the local cable company and since I would be getting internet only (have direct tv) the interent would be costing us the same as we are currently paying for home phone and internet.
Never inquired about getting internet through direct tv. DH was receptive this go around.

Anyone have internet through Direct tv?

 

[Muffin]

That is normally true; however some states have a Do Not Disconnect policy, which means that the phone has a 'soft' dial-tone - only allowing the users to make emergency calls.

How do you find out if a state has this policy?

 

[JB2K]

We're looking at all expenses right now -- DH has been out of work for 14 months. Currently, all four of us (including two teens) have cell phones, and we don't get too many calls on our home phone. DH wants to look at dropping the landline, but I'm not sure about how that would work! What do you put down on applications or other forms that ask for home phone? Did it cause any unforeseen problems? We actually have the smallest number of minutes on our cellphone plan available, but NEVER come near using them all up, and DH says we have tons of rollover minutes right now, so I'm not worried about that. I'd really like to hear anyone's experiences doing this. Thanks!

Since you live in a AT&T (former Ameritech) area, I know for a fact you can get a stripped-down landline with no extras for about $17 per month (plus a nickel for every local phone call you make).

It will serve its' purpose, which is to have a basic line in your home in case an emergency arises.

You'll have to ask for it, as these type lines aren't money-makers for AT&T.

 

[QT Pooh]

How do you find out if a state has this policy?

The best thing to do is to contact your local telephone company and ask them about it. The list I have is from 2000, Louisiana was a state without that policy - but things could have changed.

 

[sherry7]

911. Landline, if you dial they can pinpoint your location and send help immediately. Cellphone, they can triangulate you but not 'find' you.

Call your phone company or (better) go to their website and see what THE LOWEST cost service they offer is.

I'm in total agreement with the above statement. I work for a large telecommunications company, and my department deals primarily with 911 addressing.