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Post by beaglemom on Jan 21, 2018 6:40:00 GMT
We just moved and we went to an emergency preparedness meeting today. It was highly suggested that we have a landline and old school phone that requires no power. At&t is our local phone provider and looking online $30 or so a month is the cheapest I see. We currently have VOIP and pay maybe $10 a month and that covers long distance and everything. So I am having a really hard time justifying $30 a month for something that we might need 1-2 times every 5-10 years. We do live somewhere that cell service can be a bit spotty at times and if there was an earthquake it is possible that we would be without service (power, internet) for an extended period of time (week-month).
Has anyone had any luck with a super cheap, super bare bones phone plan for a landline?
Thanks!
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,444 
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Jan 21, 2018 6:45:14 GMT
Our cable company offers an "emergency" phone option. We can only make x# of calls out a month (like 5) but take unlimited incoming calls. It is $5 which is less than the discount we get for bundling internet/phone/cable.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 1, 2024 9:27:21 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2018 7:30:21 GMT
We just have it as part of the bundle. We have 2 medically complex kids, one who has required numerous ambulance rides due to a rare seizure disorder. So we keep the landline.
I think the landline is $20 or so. We pay $120 for phone, higher speed internet, and cable.
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Post by librarylady on Jan 22, 2018 17:10:10 GMT
We pay Spectrum $40 month for land line.
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Post by ntsf on Jan 22, 2018 18:18:24 GMT
it is likely these days that cellphones will come back after an earthquake than a land line. they can bring in cell towers quickly.. in the 1989 earthquake.. it was a week before i could make an reliable phone call. I could receive calls after a couple of days.. but could not make a call. I have an old phone sitting on a shelf, and phone plugs in the house. I could plug that phone in and make a 911 call with no plan.
just saying.. ask your local fire/police. I actually think my 2 band radio will be more useful in the immediate aftermath of a major quake.
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Post by bc2ca on Jan 22, 2018 21:13:56 GMT
We ported our landline to a cell phone a couple of years ago. I'm more worried about wildfires than earthquakes and didn't feel it was worth hanging onto a landline any more. Why are they advocating holding onto a landline?
The emergency alerts we received on our cell phones during our recent wildfires worked extremely efficiently. There was also an emergency call number (211) for information on evacuation boundaries and shelter locations that was completely overwhelmed with people not getting through. This program was set up to get information out and alleviate calls to 911, which is also overwhelmed in an emergency.
I'm a firm believer in being prepared for an emergency, but I just don't see a landline as necessary part of it anymore.
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Post by PolarGreen12 on Jan 22, 2018 21:29:13 GMT
In my area even if you do not have a landline you can plug a phone into the jack and make 911 only calls. We haven’t had a landline for over 5 years but keep an old phone in the garage for that reason just in case. I know Att in our area also offers a $10 month local and 911 only plan for landlines.
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Post by Lexica on Jan 22, 2018 21:42:18 GMT
I have a vintage-looking phone that I bought at Pottery Barn years ago. I keep it out on my nightstand and plugged into the jack just in case I need to make a 911 call in the night. My cell phone is on one side of the bed and the regular phone is on the other. I quit phone service a few years ago. I was paying about $35 per month and the only calls I ever got on it were sales calls so I dumped it. I also dumped regular TV reception and just have cable and my cell service now, with together add up to over $100. I'd like to lower it even more.
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blue tulip
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,983
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Post by blue tulip on Jan 22, 2018 22:28:04 GMT
We use magic Jack, it's $40 for the year.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jan 22, 2018 23:52:25 GMT
You can buy battery backup for the VoIP with xfinity, I'm not sure exactly how many hours it lasts.
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Post by bianca42 on Jan 22, 2018 23:59:29 GMT
In my area even if you do not have a landline you can plug a phone into the jack and make 911 only calls. We haven’t had a landline for over 5 years but keep an old phone in the garage for that reason just in case. I know Att in our area also offers a $10 month local and 911 only plan for landlines. This is true assuming there is still phone equipment on the outside of your house. At my last house I had to wait 2 weeks to have a landline installed because the phone company was taking the physical phone equipment off the sides of houses that hadn't had a land line in several years instead of buying new equipment for new houses. They had to take the equipment off someone else's house to put on mine to be able to turn it on. |
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Post by bianca42 on Jan 23, 2018 0:02:21 GMT
You can buy battery backup for the VoIP with xfinity, I'm not sure exactly how many hours it lasts. My understanding is that if there is a widespread power outage, you are also at the mercy of how much battery backup your internet provider has at their powered connections. |
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Post by 2peaornot2pea on Jan 23, 2018 0:32:54 GMT
You can buy battery backup for the VoIP with xfinity, I'm not sure exactly how many hours it lasts. I was going to say the same thing. A lot of VoIP modems can run on a battery. |
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