anyone without plain old telephone?

[smilingcat]

I'm seriously tempted to get rid of my regular wired plain old telephone. Virgin Mobil has a no contract month to month service for cheap. Cheaper than my regular old telephone and it seems silly to have both. So I wish to cancel my old telephone and go strictly mobile.

Any downside?? coverage of the mobile is good in places where I will be.

your comment would be very appreciated especially from those who are strictly mobile and sans wired telephone.

smilingcat

[VeloVT]

I got rid of my landline about two years ago, when I got cable internet. My cell phone is perfectly adequate by itself for phone purposes, I have a wireless router and cheap fast internet via cable, and even have an inexpensive Vonage account for fax (rarely use it but is a lifesaver once in a while. on the fence about keeping it actually). Now if only cable TV weren't so darned expensive, and if only I hadn't gotten hooked on having the better cable -- I CAN'T go back to the worse cable with awful inexorably scrolling channel menu and no cycling...

Anyway overall I'm saving money, with no loss of convenience...

[kat_h]

I got rid of my landline last week. I don't use phones much anyway, and will probably use skype for calling my grandparents. Everyone else figured out long ago that I'll ignore a ringing phone but check email so no one phones me.

When I lived in England I didn't have any phone at all for about 6 months. I lived in a small enough town that friends would just show up at my door.

[Zen]

Virgin Mobil has a no contract month to month service for cheap.

month-to-month
cheap
what's not to like?

[Meg McKilty]

Only downside I have found is you may have to replace the battery more often (once every year or year&.5)

[songlady]

My husband and I have been without a land line since we got married, 5 years and 2 cell phones between us. We like it just fine :o

[singletrackmind]

The main thing I haven't liked about Virgin Mobile is the coverage area. I guess if I'm going to be carrying the stupid thing around I'd like to be able to call from most wherever I am. Not the case with this phone.

[crazybikinchic]

We got a landline for internet purposes only. We went to digital where we do not need a phone line, but have kept it. We only use it for faxing and keep it unplugged unless faxing. What is funny is that we have never given out that phone number and every time we have it plugged in, we always seem to get multiple sales calls. How is that?????

[bmccasland]

Natural disasters. After Katrina & Rita the digital towers went down. No one could call into the area codes for southern Louisiana and Mississippi. Now in some areas the land lines went down as well - knocked over by the storm surge or trees falling on the lines. While I was evacuated, I was "roaming" on my cell, so I could call out, but no one could call me. And then the towers would get clogged. Frankly I was happy no one could call me, gave me a modicum of control over my crazy life. But I couldn't reach anyone else (friends, colleagues) unless internet searches, gave me an alternate number to call. My land line was fully functional long before the cell towers were able to handle the load.

[NoNo]

I've been cell-only ever since I graduated from college 5 years ago. Didn't see the point, especially since I never came close to using my minutes, why should I pay for another line I wasn't going to use? Plus, the money had to go elsewhere. Now I don't even have internet at home. I suppose in an emergency situation a landline would be useful, but in CT you're never far from someone; I could always run upstairs and use my neighbor's phone if it were that urgent.

This just made me think, if we're planning for emergency situations, how many of you with landlines also have wired phones and not just cordless? Just occurred to me that those wouldn't be very useful if there's no power.

[SheFly]

This just made me think, if we're planning for emergency situations, how many of you with landlines also have wired phones and not just cordless? Just occurred to me that those wouldn't be very useful if there's no power.

I keep one (not plugged in) in my spare "everything that doesn't have a place goes here" room. My DH keeps telling me to get rid of it, but I work at home and have HAD to use it when the power has been out.

And just a note - even many of today's wired phones need power with caller id, built in answering machines, etc. Having an "antique" around in case of emergency isn't a bad idea!

SheFly

[bouncybouncy]

I have never had a landline....ever! (14 years on my own) Never saw the need to pay for 2 phones. We use cable internet...tried DSL for a year (hubby works from home via internet so it was important to compare the services between cable and phoneline) but we never plugged a phone in the wall (did not have one)

The only thing I would make sure before you go signing contracts is that your phone will work in your house!!! I have a couple of friends who just recently moved into a new house...both on the same provider...her phone works in certain sections of the house (eg: standing facing south in the east corner of the hallway)...meanwhile his phone does not work at all!!!! And supposedly this is the best provider in our town...haha...we have a different provider and seem to have great service everywhere...:D

[Cindyloo]

We have not had a land line in 4 years and don't miss it at all. I would second making sure that you have good coverage with the carrier though.

The only down side to having only a mobile is that there are fewer excuses for not answering the phone...."oh I wasn't home" just doesn't work. Of course I just make up something else! :D

[Fredwina]

I've done it too.
Yes, make your phone will work where you want it to.
Virgin does have limited service
The other thing if they still are prepay is that you do have to buy airtime every so often to keep the phone in service ;)
They're also a virtual Network, The actually use Sprint's network Sprint has a Prepay called Boost, and I've seen adds around town for MetroPCS for $35/month

[bouncybouncy]

The only down side to having only a mobile is that there are fewer excuses for not answering the phone...."oh I wasn't home" just doesn't work. Of course I just make up something else! :D


I don't feel the need to make up excuses (most of the time)...my family and friends just know that I am NOT a slave to my phone and will answer it when convenient. That is just how it is :cool:

...on the other hand; I have special rings for special people so I know who it is I am or am not answering the phone for without even looking...works well for those times your jersey pocket is ringing and you know you have to call Mom when you are finished with your ride...hehe :p

[Starfish]

Another wireless-only person here. I like having one phone only. I like not getting sales calls, and it is just simple to have the one wireless phone.

I don't feel obligated to answer the phone if it rings...in fact, with wireless, people never know where you might be...so I feel that it causes fewer assumptions about whether or not I can answer at any given time.

People don't know if I'm at home, in the gym, on a date, at my office, in a meeting, at the movies...etc. I have had some friends worry at first about calling me too late, and I just make it clear that if I have gone to bed or am not available, I simply turn the phone or ringer off. They know I don't always answer.

[Zen]

The only down side to having only a mobile is that there are fewer excuses for not answering the phone...."oh I wasn't home" just doesn't work. Of course I just make up something else! :D

"I was busy" is all they need to know. cell phones have voice mail too. I don't understand why people feel the absolutely have to answer the phone.

[Grog]

I had only a cell phone for my first two years after moving here in Vancouver, but I got frustrated with it. I find it uncomfortable for longer conversations, and the connection was not as top notch as I would have wanted. So we got a Vonage phone now, which is pretty cheap. (We have built-in high speed internet in our building.) It also wouldn't work in the event of a power down, though.

I very seldom pick up the phone. I can remain seated with not a twitch in my body as it rings... I've been raised on email, to which I can reply when I want. I feel the same about the phone. :)

[Cindyloo]

The only down side to having only a mobile is that there are fewer excuses for not answering the phone...."oh I wasn't home" just doesn't work. Of course I just make up something else! :D

I guess I should clarify that it's only my mom that expects me to answer every time she calls...not that I do...hence the excuse to diffuse the guilt trip. I know, boundaries! :rolleyes:

[DebW]

I keep at least one hard-wired land line phone because the wireless land lines are no good in a power outage. A cell phone would work until you ran out of battery power, and if the power goes out just before your phone needs a recharge you'd be stuck. I babysit for a friend who has no land line, and have to be sure and bring my cell phone well-charged lest I end up with an emergency and no phone, or in case she wants to call me to check on the kids and panics. You can tell I'm still getting used to cell phones.

[NoNo]

That's why I have a charger in the car:D

[Zen]

I have some working rotary phones.

[KSH]

Well, I live alone... no kids, etc. So for me, having a land line was pretty much useless and a waste of money since I had a cell phone.

I have only had a cell phone for about 6 years now. Has worked out just fine.

[roadie gal]

There must be something wrong with me. I'm thinking of cancelling the CELL phone and just keeping the landline. Up here in the mountains the cell phone coverage is so sporadic that it's almost useless. I use MAYBE 30 minutes of my 500/month. The voice mails are almost as unreliable as the phone calls. They may show up right away, they may show up next month... During snowstorms the cell towers almost always go down and the electicity goes out all of the time. I have an old princess phone that plugs directly into the phone jack for those occasions.

The only time I use the cell phone is if I'm travelling. (When was the last time anyone in the US saw a payphone?)

[tulip]

I have two cell phones: one for personal use and one for business use. I have internet through the cable company, but no land line. It works fine for me.

[Crankin]

Well, I'm kinda old fashioned, too. My husband wants to ditch the land line, but I won't let him because of 911. We have voip through Comcast (used to have Vonage, but it got increasingly worse over the past 3 years). We have 2 hard wired phones and 3 wireless ones in the house.
I have a cell phone, but I only put it on when I go out in the car and I leave it on at work, since as a teacher, I cannot easily get to a regular phone. I want people to call me on my home phone, not on my cell, unless it's really important. I don't want to be bothered when I am out, like not even hear the phone ring or vibrate. I consider the cell phone a safety thing, but I don't go around checking it every second or looking at it in my hand like some people. I don't even have a camera on my phone and I had to really convince the guy at the Sprint store that i didn't need one! I mean, I don't even take pictures with my camera.
I do bring my phone on my rides, but I only put it on when we are leading a ride; once I had it off and my husband tried to call me because I hadn't showed up at a stopping point. I was the sweep and I was with someone who was having leg cramps. Everyone was waiting for me and I would have been able to communicate more easily if my phone had been on!

All this technology stuff gets on my nerves. I can't remember how anything works and I feel like there's hardly anything in my house that I can easily use.

[emily_in_nc]

This just made me think, if we're planning for emergency situations, how many of you with landlines also have wired phones and not just cordless? Just occurred to me that those wouldn't be very useful if there's no power.

Retrogrouch here -- wireline service with one cordless phone, two wired ones. And one cell phone.

We have to keep the wireline service since our DSL for internet is through the telephone company....we don't have cable modem out here in the sticks.

Emily

[smilingcat]

do you need an active land line for DSL?? I thought they just borrowed the telephone line.

meaning no telephone service and still have DSL. Don't tell me it ain't so...???

well that will be a major :mad: :mad: :mad: I'm not about to get cable modem satellite service. Haven't watched a TV program in like two maybe three years and I'm very happy. What I don't know can't hurt me. Ignorance is a bliss :p

now REALLY CONFUSED!!!
smilingcat

[jusdooit]

Ditto what Beth said earlier. I am in mid-Mississippi and after Katrina cell service was nearly impossible. The towers were completely jammed for weeks. I do have landline service and will retain it. 911 service is not available here for cell use.

SmilingCat, not sure about DSL. My DSL is through the local phone company and carrying an active phone service seems required. But I have the most inexpensive available.

[kat_h]

do you need an active land line for DSL?? I thought they just borrowed the telephone line.

meaning no telephone service and still have DSL. Don't tell me it ain't so...???

Check with your ISP. Where I am it costs $10 extra to get DSL if you don't also have a landline with the same company. They can do it though.

[kerrybelle]

We've wanted to get rid of our landline for some time now. The problem is DH needs a landline for his work computer. It makes a call each night, to download information from the company. I feel we are throwing that money away. :mad:

[SouthernBelle]

I have both for business reasons. As far as the cell, the main reason I have it is for safety reasons. I'm often on the road by myself (both bike and car). On both the cell has been priceless in emergencies.

The funniest was when I had a flat, no spare tube, and my tube wasn't repairable. I called a taxi! We had a hard time fitting the bike in his back seat. :rolleyes:

Matter of fact, my old cellphone bit the dust this week; so I've invested in a Palm Treo. Totally cool. I've already got my calendar all set up and syncing with all my computers. Lots more things on it to play with.

[nancielle]

Still have a landline. Cell coverage here is dicey. When using my cell phone at home, many times I have difficulty hearing the person I'm calling or they have difficulty hearing me. My downstairs neighbors use only a cell phone and I get to hear all of their conversations because they're constantly yelling into their phone to be heard. :(

[bmccasland]

Anyone notice that cell to cell long distance calls have worse reception than cell to landline? Or cell to cell in general is worse?

I use my cell for long distance calls, and when I call someone else long distance on their cell the reception can be dicey, and they're not driving through tunnels either. But if I call their landline, no problems.

One other thing - cell calls can be picked up (listened to) by nepharious persons with the right gear - like picking up radio signals. You can't do that with a landline (and law enforcement needs a warrant to tap the line). Be careful about giving personal information over a cell call.

[Geonz]

Just a cell phone ... but it's a problem because I have a lot of trouble keeping track of it and keeping it charged. Right now I don't know where it is... trying to figure otu a routine for getting it into oh, the fanny pack or something.
I'm out on the bike so much that I don't want to give up the cell phone but I better ride out and see if I left it at work...

[emily_in_nc]

do you need an active land line for DSL?? I thought they just borrowed the telephone line.

meaning no telephone service and still have DSL. Don't tell me it ain't so...???

well that will be a major :mad: :mad: :mad: I'm not about to get cable modem satellite service. Haven't watched a TV program in like two maybe three years and I'm very happy. What I don't know can't hurt me. Ignorance is a bliss :p

now REALLY CONFUSED!!!
smilingcat

Actually, it might be possible, but cost more for the DSL service without land line service bundled in, so since we aren't paying that much for our land line service, I prefer to keep it up for all the reasons others have mentioned before. Living in a rural area, our power is more likely to go out, and I often forget to charge my cell phone as I am not a big phone user. So I like having my old timey phones for emergencies if nothing else. And having land line service, I am able to have the very cheapest cell phone plan ($39.95/mo) with the fewest minutes.

Emily

[tulip]

I use Skype in addition to my cell phone.

[Trek420]

Actually, it might be possible, but cost more for the DSL service without land line service bundled in

Yes, you can get "naked DSL". In most areas the price is slightly more without a land line than with one. But most DSL providers keep the standalone cost the same for the fastest speed.

If you have DSL with a land line consider a measured rate if your local phone service provider offers that. Most internet users have flat rate for unlimited local calls, that was essential when you used to use dial up dontchaknow and most folks never change that.

But now you have DSL so unless you call your neighbor daily :cool: you might not need that. The cost diff (around $6.00 with most local companies) is about the difference between regular and "naked" DSL. Voila! Keep your land line and the advantages some have mentioned like free incoming calls, emergency access .... if you want to. :D

[DDH]

I keep my land line only for 911 services. I have a 13 yr old and we live on 50 acres in the country with few neighbors around. We all three have AT&T cellular service but until they get gps on cell phones, and the 911 service has that available for finding cells, I prefer to have the land line for emergency service. I have the most basic phone though. I only pay like 20 dollars a month because we use the cells for long distance and the land line is what my MIL and mother call.

[tc1]

Basically, although individual circumstances vary, keeping a land land for your home is the best way to go. Cell networks get overloaded quickly in disasters, emergencies or perceived emergencies. I was working during the Nisqually earthquake, and the cell phone system was overloaded, our 800mHz radio crashed because the repeater site lost power, so "Bell" phones were our only option and they worked. Also, depending on your area, the address identification feature at the 911 dispatch center doesn't work with cell phones.

Yeah, the wires are still on poles, and poles still get taken out by storms, drunks, etc. But overall the "Bell" system has proven to be more reliable. Make sure to have at least one phone that doesn't depend on AC to make it work. Most cordless have two cords, a little one that plugs into the phone receptacle, and a bigger cord with a transformer that plugs into your house's AC power. If the power goes out, the phone won't work. One of my phones is marketed as being easy for older people to use-the buttons are large and lit, the ring is adjustable to ear-splitting, and it can amplify voices. It does use house AC for the bells and whistles, but if the AC is out it still works as a phone without the fancy features.

O' course, my perspective is shaped by my memories of growing up in the sticks in isolation, with one phone on a party line. I am quite phobic about being left without the option to contact somebody. So I have a personal cell phone, a company cell phone, a company pager, and a bell phone at home. Boyfriend has a personal cell phone and a company cell phone. And we have a cable modem. We both spend very little time on the phone, but we want the choice.

[Lizasilva]

Yep, I'm the same kind of a person who is a little anxious when it comes to contacting others on phones or so! Usually, I don't make calls on cell phone or bell phones, but when alone in home, I usually make calls like manics...so as to reduce my anxiety and to develop a fluf of confidence that I'm not alone and others are with me. It scares me to even imagine that I'ld be helpless in case of an emergency, so I own a cell phone with two SIMs, and 2 bell phones at home, and I was wondering last Sunday that how about if I buy a new cell phone in case I lost my previous one, I'ld ve another ... :D