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I have only a cell phone. I have free incoming calls so I just ring up someone and ask them to call me back. At first it was irritating, but now we are all used to it and make sure we hang up before one minute is up. I originally did it because of financial issues and I had an existing cell plan that I did not want to buy out to cancel. So, 2 years later, we have still only a cell. It's great and I probably will keep it that way until the little man grows up and girls start calling lol.
Do you know of anyone who has had their home phone shut off and uses their cell phone as their only phone? We were thinking about doing this, but wanted some insight from anyone who has/is doing it.
I had my landlines shut off in Las Vegas and only used my cell phone after I got into a bill dispute with Sprint. They were a$$holes to me and I told them where to stick it and said turn it off and F off...MUCH cheaper and far more convenient. Then, when I moved here to Missouri, I have to have a land line for the computer as I'm too far out from town to have dsl or cable connections. But, only 3 people have that number and I still use my cell phone as a home phone I carry everywhere. However...I must say, I lost my cell phone service during round three of the ice storm...I think the ice caused the cell tower that T-Mobile uses to collapse. I didn't have access for two days. Then I disconnected the computer from the land line and put a land phone in to make calls to family and friends and let them know I was fine. It went dead too the next day.
Personally, as soon as I get another way to hook up my computer the land line will go again. I pay $40/month and always stay within my minutes, plus, all local calls are free. I never get charged more and it's so easy and convenient. Plus, I love having a cell phone with the ability to take photos. I prefer the cell phone only.
I've had just a cell phone for over five years and its been a lot more convienient for me. I have not missed a home phone at all, in fact it feels funny when I'm trying to hold one of those gigantic receivers. 911 CAN find you right away (unfortunitely I had to find that out first hand). After a while you do start getting those telemarketing calls though because that is the number listed on all of your stuff (credit cards, banks, store's files etc) you don't get quite as many but it does happen still.
The article below is from the local paper here in Aiken. Reason enough for me to keep my landline.
A landline phone can save your life
Fri, Jan 19, 2007
By KAREN DAILY Staff writer
An Aiken family, grieving from the sudden death of a loved one who was calling for help but couldn't tell police where she was, is hoping that through their story further tragedy can be prevented.
Like so many people, Aiken resident Shirley Hanson had disconnected her home phone service because she had a cellular phone. All the members of the close-knit family shared the same cellular phone family plan, and she didn't see the need to pay for two services.
But Saturday morning, when the Aiken woman reached for that cell phone for emergency help, she could barely speak, and police dispatchers couldn't detect where she was calling from.
Hanson, an aunt through marriage to Aiken Public Safety's Sgt. Nancy Kieltsch, had disconnected her home phone service so she threw out her phones, but what she didn't know was that even without local or long-distance services, a phone plugged into a jack will always connect to 911.
Hanson was calling from her house on Taylor Street, less than a quarter mile from an Aiken Public Safety substation on the City's Southside, but she couldn't tell the dispatcher where she was.
At 50 years old, an otherwise healthy woman, Hanson had a rare and sudden reaction to strep throat, and her airway had constricted. She could barely breathe, much less talk, but she picked up her cell phone to call for help.
Aiken Public Safety senior dispatcher Nancy Griswold said she received Hanson's call, and heard the woman's pleas. Hanson told Griswold she couldn't breathe, but she didn't say any more.
Griswold said she felt helpless. She couldn't tell where the woman in need was calling from. The police computer screen said only "Cingular Orange."
Typically, that computer will give police the address of the caller, but the cellular phone was under Hanson's son's name, a Savannah resident, and there was no way to tell where the call was coming from.
It didn't show the cellular phone tower her call was using either.
"All I could do was listen," Griswold said. "I asked her to get to a phone, but she couldn't — I just kept saying I was sorry."
Griswold began pushing the numbers on the phone pad in case there was someone at the house who could hear her dialing. Her youngest son, in his mid 20s, walked in and heard Griswold pushing the buttons from the other end. He heard the beeping phone and saw his mother.
She had stopped breathing about a minute before her son walked, and Griswold was attempting to have him perform CPR. He told police where they were, and within 30 seconds the police were there, but Kieltsch said they didn't make it in time to save her aunt.
She said the family fears that Hanson would have survived had help gotten to her quickly enough. Griswold said she was on the phone with Hanson for about 15 minutes before the woman stopped her labored breathing.
The family hopes that their mother's story will help others.
"People need to know to keep a phone plugged in at home," Kieltsch said.
The next day, Sunday afternoon, Griswold received a very similar phone call from a distressed caller.
She said this time it was a man, and he was using a cell phone to call for help, but again she said she couldn't tell where the call was coming from.
Griswold, even now clearly shaken from the experience, said she couldn't understand the man — his words were slurred from a massive stroke.
She said his phone suddenly hung up, and she tried calling the phone back, but she couldn't connect to the caller.
Then she listened to the tape in an attempt to figure out what he was saying. She said she thought she heard him say Fairway Ridge.
She sent an ambulance and officers to the apartment complex, but she didn't have an apartment so she tried calling him again.
This time Griswold connected with the man and asked him to tell her where he was. She went though the letters of the alphabet and he groaned when she got to F. Then, she said she counted off 100, 200, and again, he groaned as she said 300.
Emergency crews found the man and took him for care at an area hospital, but she said she doesn't know how the man is doing.
Public Safety asks that residents leave at least one home phone connected to a phone jack, preferably not a cordless phone.
"It may save a life — that's why her children want to tell her story," Kieltsch said of her aunt's passing.
a phone plugged into a jack will always connect to 911.
So what I got, from that article, is that I do not need to pay for land-line service, but I should keep a corded phone plugged into a jack at the house.
We've done it this way for about four years now. Actually - a little longer I think.
It just did not make fiscal sense to have the phone at home, when everyone in the house had a cell phone. My parents have lived 'long distance' for years, and the rates/package with the cell phone was so much cheaper. Plus - having a teenager in the house now (not so long ago it was two) kept the phone tied up, couldn't get on the computer (back before we got cable instead of dial-up), and the bills were through the roof.
Now - we have 4 cell hones - an outrageous amount of minutes - and the cell bill comes to about 127.00 monthly. Compared to 100.00 for cell before and almost that much for the regular phone.
The main reason we did it - the area we live in is long distance to EVERYWHERE. It has only been within the last 5 years that we have been able to call the county seat without it being long distance - as they finally added 'area calling'. That dropped the bill some, but did not make up for the rest.
There was a time when I swore I would never have a cell phone. I hated them, they were big and bulky (dating myself, aren't I?), and so expensive. Then - one day I had a blow out on I-65 while driving to work - and that pushed me over the edge. I will never travel without one again.
Check the plans/rates and companies - I am certain you can get a better deal with just the cell.
We dropped our landline about a year ago. We have a family share plan and the second line ( which stays in the house) costs 9.99 a month. The land line cost us 20. and we never used it, the 20. was just to have it and to pay all the taxes associated with it. We figured we needed a phone in the house for when the kids are here and in case of an emergency the cell can be grabbed and taken with you. Since it is a family share plan all the calls between the two phones are always free as well as nights and weeknds on both. If you are in doubt about the switch ( as I was) get the cell and also keep the landline for a few months, that way you have peace of mind that you made the right decision, whatever it will be. best of luck
I do not have a home phone. I only use my cell phone. It is not necessary for me to have a home phone, since it is just me. Also, long distance is included with the cell so I do not need another bill for long distance. My internet service is through cable so I do not need a phone line. I think having just a cell phone will save you a good bit of money in the long run.
you now can use cell phones to receive the internet, about same as satalite in speed,
Also check with your provider you may be able like do, 10 names on circle of friends that is unlimited, (Alltel). for your cell phone usage.
The newer cell phones do have a (GPS) option that shows your location if you allow it. What you need to check for is whether your local 911 service has the new equipment to pick up on it. The old systems don't.
Vonage and any of the other computer based phones can go off-line when the electricity is off. They didn't use to report your location to 911 either. What you have to do is make sure you sign up with them (Von, etc) specifically as to your address for 911 purposes. Not sure how effective that is?
There are very inexpensive little boosters fed by a AA battery you can use to charge a cell phone in an emergency. I have a small converter I bought for $25 that plugs into my car's cigarette lighter so I can plug in my cell phone's wall plug charger. There are web sites that give radiation exposure for cell phones based on models. I'm not on the phone a lot but wonder as a friend's son who was on all the time died of a brain tumor at 20.
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Landlineless is the way to be
