Switching from Landlines to Mobile Phones

I hear you on hughes, I use to be one but my uplink fried shortly after the warranty ran out and hughes put me on a two week waiting list for the repair.....As to thier fair usage policy, I tried to get them to throttle just the news feed port (119) and they said it could not be done so I found software that controlled it from my computer. I would not have minded thier policy as much if they only throttled the connection when bandwidth was limited.....

I was about to install dial up but the phone guy said they did have an open slot for DSL... been much happier ever since. Dont trust the sales people, mine said DSL was not availible but all it took was a single phone call by the installer to fix that for me.

I'm trying to weight the pluses & minuses of going landline-less. Cost savings would be a plus but the minuses would be when at home phone would have to be with you at all times, making sure its charged & 911 is a .

Verizon to give discounts for landline-less bundles:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080614/ap_ ... zwkRQE1vAI

Actually I'd be looking at the "Magic Jack" or one of their competitors, this is not a scam.

http://www.magicjack.com/3/index.asp

The only thing that has me concerned is if you can get a local number or even better yet keep your existing number. I'll tell you something else that is great about this device, it works anywhere. A lot of people are sending them to relatives overseas which essentially gives them local US number and the ability to call them.

The other issue is if your cable comaony cuts the ability to use this service which is entirely possible. That's one of the reasons you'll see me bitching about the need for net neutrality.

Richard S. wrote:Actually I'd be looking at the "Magic Jack" or one of their competitors, this is not a scam.

I got the magicjack a few days ago & I'm very impressed with the sound quality. I hooked it up to my media center pc which is always on & I use 4 panasonic cordless phones. I went for the $60 for 5 year deal, can't beat the price.

spc wrote:I got the magicjack a few days ago & I'm very impressed with the sound quality. I hooked it up to my media center pc which is always on & I use 4 panasonic cordless phones.

So you can buy a multiple handset, cordless phone pack & then just plug the main line into the magicjack & use the other phones all over the house? Sounds pretty good but:

1. Will 911 locate you on it?
2. Richard says cable companys can disable its use? (I have comcast for all 3 services...cable tv-internet -Phone)

I have been using the "magic jack" for almost a year for my fax line. It will only work if your PC is on. Im in NH, but the closest area code I could get was Ma. I think if I could get a NH area code, id dump my Comcast phone line.

So you can buy a multiple handset, cordless phone pack & then just plug the main line into the magicjack & use the other phones all over the house?

Yes.

Will 911 locate you on it?

My location is good for 911.

Richard says cable company's can disable its use?

I hope the Mayor is wrong. I'm calling my congressman.

MagicJack FAQ's/Knowledge base web site:
http://www.magicjack.com/9/faq/

Update to my last post. I cut the cord. I use my cell as my main line, and the MagicJack IN MY OPINION is a piece of S**T. It keeps a dial tone, even as your dialing, I pick up to make a call, and there is dead air, and on and on and on. I joined the MagicJack forum to iron out the bugs, and it was no help at all. Some times it works, and most of the time it dosent.
On a brighter note, im saving 490.00 a year by cutting the cord. On a sour note, the family cell plan is costing me 2280.00 a year.

Another 911 problem with cell phones is if you live on a border with another state . A few months ago a woman in Wells Vermont called 911 on her cell phone with a frantic call for help and she said her son was stabbing her or hitting her with a hammer, all on tape but the morons taking the call were argueing over whether to take a call from a cell phone that had the misfortune of being picked up by a Granville NY cell tower being it was from 'out of state". (Simple phone call would have saved a life they said)(They have no problem crossing borders for such serious offenses as speeding 5 over the limit and follow you across just like it was life or death(speeding isnt) (murder is) By the time the "keystone cops " arrived the poor woman was dead and the "little darling" let the them into a gruesome murder scene.

Fortunately, I'm not on the boarder of another state, so I think I'm all set with 911. Also, I have GPS for "911 Only "enabled.

Sometimes I think I'm the last human on earth without a cell phone. SPC asked "what's the downside besides 911 issues". What's not the down side? Some how they have people thinking they're cheap. I see people paying $150-$200 a month for their cell phone. They get lousy reception, dropped calls, no ring. I know if I owned one it would be at the bottom of the river in short order. They drive me nuts! For 15 years I've been saying that when they work right I'll think about getting one, but here it is, 15 yrs later & they still stink!

Freddy, I travel a lot for my job, and I carry two cell phones, one for my work, and one for my "life". I never have issues with my personal cell, (Verizon), great service, but my work (Nextel), I can talk cell, or direct connect cross country no problem, but if I'm in places in Maine just outside of Portland, it dosent want to work.
Bottom line is, I can go without a landline, but never without a cell. As new generations get old enough for phones, studies show they wont ever have landlines, but only cellphones, as that is what they will (mostly) ever know.Landline usage will go down, and wireless will increase. My kids have had cell phones for years, and I have the piece of mind knowing where they are just by picking up the phone. (Or watching the blip on the computer screen).

My internet card keep cutting out when it would rain and I got cut off alot. So I sent it back. Thier putting in a new tower in my buddies yard about 2 miles from here. I should have a pretty str8 shot at it. So when thier done I will try it again. Been back in the stone age for awhile. If I didn't have my cell , I could not go out on the property or my pond. Been stuck a few times in the electric chair. Cell saved my butt. One time I was like 3" or 4" from going in backwards. lol Had to lean forward till my buddy came over to get me out. Glad he is retired.

I tried cutting my landline...
1. I use skype and it works perfectly on my laptop - but there is no 911. I think I paid $30.00 for a year of unlimited worldwide calls. Since I call overseas for work, this was well worth it.

2. My wife and I were using our cell phones for everything elese but I soon discovered she spends more time on the phone than any reasonable minute plan covers. We just put a landline back in after 4 months.

disclaimer: I work for Fon.com and Skype is an investor in them.

Ohhh, I know, it's the future, and it's here now, but I don't have to like it! LOL Both my daughters have no land line, just cell phones. But, they live in Boston. It's just around here, even though they have added a bunch of new towers, there's a need for more. As long as you stay close to interstate 95 it's not too bad.