Landline + phone - just tell me what to do

[Anonymous]

I want a landline in the house for my kids, who are getting older. We sometimes leave them home alone, and they do not have phones. I don't want a phoneline that uses the internet connection because that can be somewhat unreliable. I know I can just research this and be done with it, and I know it is not complex, but I just feel tired thinking about figuring out the options. Anyone have this that can just tell me what you've done? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Phones using the Internet being unreliable is majorly overestimated. Like seriously.

[Anonymous]

You want a "POTS" line ("Plain Old Telephone Service"--yes, that is really the industry term). This is a standard copper pair from the central office to your house. It will work without electricity in your house, since the power is provided by the central office. It will also properly identify your address for E911 service.

Post your location (city and state) and someone will post the name of the ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) who provides POTS lines in your area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Phones using the Internet being unreliable is majorly overestimated. Like seriously.

I have a friend who canceled her landline. She must live in some kind of hollow because her cell phone reception is appalling. It is a chore to talk to her. We used to like to chat but now I avoid doing this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want a "POTS" line ("Plain Old Telephone Service"--yes, that is really the industry term). This is a standard copper pair from the central office to your house. It will work without electricity in your house, since the power is provided by the central office. It will also properly identify your address for E911 service.

Post your location (city and state) and someone will post the name of the ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) who provides POTS lines in your area.

Thank you! Austin, TX

[Anonymous]

I don't know the area, but it's probably Southwestern Bell, which might now be AT&T. Don't get FIOS or VOIP. You want a copper pair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want a "POTS" line ("Plain Old Telephone Service"--yes, that is really the industry term). This is a standard copper pair from the central office to your house. It will work without electricity in your house, since the power is provided by the central office. It will also properly identify your address for E911 service.

Post your location (city and state) and someone will post the name of the ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) who provides POTS lines in your area.

Just be careful. Fewer and fewer companies are offering POTS. Many, like Verizon, are phasing out their support for copper in favor of fiber. Many are also pulling their copper technology from areas so that they don't have to maintain both sets of cables and local/neighborhood equipment. So, you may not have nearly as many options for POTS as you used to. There are some places where POTS is not available.

[Anonymous]

For the cost of a standard phone, it might be cheaper to add a line to our plan and get a cheap flip phone. Nothing fancy so the kids won't be tempted to play games on it or surf the internet. Just have it plugged in all the time, so you don't have to worry about the battery draining. Its there in case of an emergency and, if heaven forbid they need to leave the house because the smoke dectators go off, they can take it with them and call you from outside. Make sure you program your number, spouse, or any other emergency contact they may need to reach.

[Anonymous]

Also that remember the land line will get calls to renew your home and auto warranty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also that remember the land line will get calls to renew your home and auto warranty

I have a landline (though I think it’s VOIP now, not “real”) and this hasn’t been a problem for us.

[Anonymous]

I live on Capitol Hill and have tried for years to get a genuine landline. Verizon won’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phones using the Internet being unreliable is majorly overestimated. Like seriously.

I have a friend who canceled her landline. She must live in some kind of hollow because her cell phone reception is appalling. It is a chore to talk to her. We used to like to chat but now I avoid doing this.

Cell phone is different from VOIP. Presumably having an "internet" phone (a phone through your internet provider, that is connected by wire) is the option here as opposed to a traditional landline. It would not be subject to the same signal issues that a cellphone has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You want a "POTS" line ("Plain Old Telephone Service"--yes, that is really the industry term). This is a standard copper pair from the central office to your house. It will work without electricity in your house, since the power is provided by the central office. It will also properly identify your address for E911 service.

Post your location (city and state) and someone will post the name of the ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) who provides POTS lines in your area.

Just be careful. Fewer and fewer companies are offering POTS. Many, like Verizon, are phasing out their support for copper in favor of fiber. Many are also pulling their copper technology from areas so that they don't have to maintain both sets of cables and local/neighborhood equipment. So, you may not have nearly as many options for POTS as you used to. There are some places where POTS is not available.

This. These dont exist in many many neighborhoods anymore. Noone wanted to maintain them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the cost of a standard phone, it might be cheaper to add a line to our plan and get a cheap flip phone. Nothing fancy so the kids won't be tempted to play games on it or surf the internet. Just have it plugged in all the time, so you don't have to worry about the battery draining. Its there in case of an emergency and, if heaven forbid they need to leave the house because the smoke dectators go off, they can take it with them and call you from outside. Make sure you program your number, spouse, or any other emergency contact they may need to reach.

This is a great idea. My kindergartner has learned to dial 911 in emergency, but now we’re working on how to actually do that on our cell phones, which are different. She is never home alone, but if the adult she is with is incapacitated (I worry irrationally about falling down the stairs) she may have a hard time remembering what to do.

[Anonymous]

Get Ooma. I've been quite happy with them at multiple locations. It's been reliable and we're even grandfathered in to no fees. Vonage is another solid one that I've used for internet equiv of POTS. Though I use the home internet version, they do have a version that uses cellular behind the scenes for its internet instead of your home internet. It's more like $15~/month vs like $5/month or so I think.