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About This Page: This is a discussion on Computers/Tech/Photo within the LetsGoKings.com forums, at Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fan Forum. hey
I have not used my phone at all ever since I got the DSL connection. it's been a year and I think I'm paying the phone bills ($30/month) for
I have not used my phone at all ever since I got the DSL connection. it's been a year and I think I'm paying the phone bills ($30/month) for nothing.
should I drop the phone account and tell AT&T to F off or what?
Other than using Time Warner for my ISP, I'm in the same boat. I've been wondering about killing that $30-38 a month I pay for the landline as I use my cell 95% of the time.
I've been procrastinating in calling them and asking if there were a cheaper alternative that would allow just incoming calls. Does anybody know if that is an option and how much it may cost?
Another thing to note is I believe you can still make a 911 call from your landline even if you DO cancel the normal service. I could be wrong about that, so someone please correct me if I am.
I'm sure AT&T could give you other reasons to tell them to **** off, but let's stick with this issue.
My sister and her husband never got a land line when they moved to Las Vegas last year and I don't think they really miss it.
As a person who tries to get a hold of someone without a landline, it can be somewhat annoying for several reasons. My sister never deletes voice mail so there are times when you really need to get a hold of her and can't leave a voice mail. There are also times she leaves her phone on silent or in her car which also makes it impossible to reach her. So if you're prone to doing things like that, perhaps ditching the landline isn't the best idea. If you lose your cell phone often it might also not be a great idea, but that's just from my experiences.
My sister and her husband never got a land line when they moved to Las Vegas last year and I don't think they really miss it.
As a person who tries to get a hold of someone without a landline, it can be somewhat annoying for several reasons. My sister never deletes voice mail so there are times when you really need to get a hold of her and can't leave a voice mail. There are also times she leaves her phone on silent or in her car which also makes it impossible to reach her. So if you're prone to doing things like that, perhaps ditching the landline isn't the best idea. If you lose your cell phone often it might also not be a great idea, but that's just from my experiences.
Most cell companies can get you a replacement phone within 24 hours. I know this happened with Verizon (which I no longer have thank God).
Most cell companies can get you a replacement phone within 24 hours. I know this happened with Verizon (which I no longer have thank God).
True, but I'd imagine most people that lose their phone are going to spend time looking for it before they go and order a replacement phone, which means you're more than likely going to be 48 hours without the phone.
My cousin is 16 and although he's getting better, he loses things quite often, his cell phone being one of them. They've got insurance on the phones just for that reason but after the 2nd or 3rd time of calling to say they've lost the phone and to suspend the account, they've started charging them a reactivation fee whenever he finds it and they call to turn the phone back on. Replacing phones and shutting off and on the account could get expensive.
I was just trying to point out that if you're a person that loses things, is forgetful, or klutzy (my sister has also put her phone through the washing machine because she forgot it was in the pocket in her jeans) then perhaps switching to cell phone only might not be the best idea.
I know it's never cool to talk about safety, but you're getting more than you think by paying for and keeping a connected landline in your house.
First off, unlike cell phones, they are usually up and running early on after a disaster. It's always nice to know you'll be able to communicate with people as quickly as possible after such an event.
Which brings us to the major problem with people who dump landlines - 911. People don't understand the massive benefit of a landline 911 call - when it's dialed, no matter how short the conversation, the call is routed to the closest LOCAL dispatch center, and the address is automatically dispatched in case of disconnect.
Here in Socal, cell phones, on the other hand, have ALL calls routed to the CHP dispatch centers. I'm sure most of you have dialed 911 on a cell phone at some point, and 9 times out of 10 you are put on hold. After connecting, you must provide a detailed enough description so the dispatcher can route your call to the correct agency. For someone who's in dire need of help at home after something like a seizure or other traumatic incident, this info isn't easy to convey. This is why first responders stress than, if given a choice, ALWAYS dial for help from a landline.
VOIP service, depending on the provider, is fine except for ONE major problem - if your internet connection goes out or just the power to your house, you're now out of luck if you need help. And if our phones went out as often as our internet connections, we'd all be pretty pissed over the service.
I say depending on the provider because there are some services that provide very convuluted 911 systems. Vonage, for instance, offers Enhanced 911 service in SOME areas, but not all. This means that you don't know if your info will be automatically provided to responders or not. What's worse is that there have been problems with some calls being handled by their national dispatch center being directed to the wrong agency, and having lengthy delays before help can even begin to go en route.
Just some stuff to consider when it comes to this kind of stuff. It's great to save money, but if you ask your local safety agencies, I think a majority of them would say at least keep a basic, no frills landline at home. (And don't forget to have a phone in the house that doesn't require AC power to operate.)
I may be wrong, but I believe as long as your house is plugged into the PSTN (public switched telephone network), 911 should work regardless if you have service or not. Its one of those free services.
__________________ The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity - or it will move apart.
I may be wrong, but I believe as long as your house is plugged into the PSTN (public switched telephone network), 911 should work regardless if you have service or not. Its one of those free services.
I believe this only applies if the phone company cuts off your service for some reason. I think they call it a "soft" dial tone. A consumer who cancels their service it at risk having the line completely disconnected. At the very least, this will affect Enhanced 911 service, which means that addresses will not automatically be computed during the call.
Note that this is similar to cell phones, where 911 can be dialed, although no information about the caller (number) will be transmitted during the call, meaning that the user must notify the dispatcher that they are calling from a disconnected phone and need to call 911 back in the event of a disconnect.
I may be wrong, but I believe as long as your house is plugged into the PSTN (public switched telephone network), 911 should work regardless if you have service or not. Its one of those free services.
That's what I was saying. Can anyone confirm this?
That's what I was saying. Can anyone confirm this?
I do know that 911 requires a phone to have a dialtone, so a connection to a phone company (who are the agents who maintain and oversea the network) is required. It's certainly not a "free service", as the infrastructure of the network is paid for through surcharges that you can read right off your bill.
EDIT: I've got a call out to an expert in the field, so I will update when I hear back from him.
Last edited by dgrycan; May 29th, 2007 at 04:10 PM.
Okay, so I just had a conversation with someone in the IMD section of the Fire Department who is considered the "phone system expert".
His quote to me was this: "If you voluntarily discontinue your local telephone service, consider yourself cut off from the outside world." A disconnected line is just that - disconnected. If you're not paying the 911 surcharge, you have no 911 service.
The phone companies CAN, under certain circumstances, restore limited access to phone lines, but this all requires a dial tone. He stated again, without a dial tone, 911 will not work. This limited service is only done by request of the customer.
He did say that often times when a person disconnects their phone, the company places the line in a limited mode for a certain period before complete disconnect occyrs. In many cases, he said, a disconnected line will actually have a technicial come by on a routine basis and manually works the area phone system.
It's different in many areas of the country however, so he can only vouch for how things are done in LA County.
__________________ The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity - or it will move apart.
Ok, so I've been doing this for years. A couple of comments:
1) Unless you originally ordered your DSL as a dry line (Meaning that it was installed on a line without dialtone to begin with) then if you cancel your phone service, this will kill your DSL line. They did not allow this kind of DSL order until recently.
2) Do not trust the VOIP 911 service. Regardless of what they tell you, regardless of the UPS units you install, the potential for it not to work is greater than relying on the phon
BeerMan
phone connection? 
