Phone lines?

[catnapper]

My sister in law will be moving in with us sometime next month and we're adding her to our cell phone family plan. We will add more minutes for SIL, and the next tier the cell company has minutes-wise is almost double what we currently have. So we got to thinking: with all these additional minutes, why not drop the land line? Nobody really uses the house phone anyway.

Anybody drop their land line and rely solely on their cells? Was it a good idea? Bad one?

[Craftlady]

Personally bad idea to drop land line.
Something happens to the cell phone there is no way to communicate. Battery low, need to make a call doesnt work to great.
Emergency and NO battery power your s.o.l.
We have both land line and cell.

[kittycats_delight]

I would never completely drop my land line. I don't know what service is like there but if we have bad weather we have no cell reception and if there was an emergency no way to call out. We have no small children in the house but hubby's father is 73 and just experienced what he thought was a heart attack but was actually an anxiety attack. There was horrible weather that day and no reception without the land line we couldn't have called an ambulance. The people upstairs were out as were the neighbors so IF it had turned out to be a heart attack we could have been in serious trouble. So you see this is the main reason why I wouldn't give up my landline.

[Karen]

I have a cell phone for emergencies only. I rarely use it at all.

[smokey the elder]

My cell doesn't work well in my house. I need a land line for my satellite dish. The cell is basically for getting directions to adopters when street signs are missing, to find out what I should buy for dinner, and emergencies!

[Alysser]

Personally, I hate landlines. It's a waste of money since I use my cell for everything. My parents use the land lines but I very rarely do unless I get a call on there. I never call anyone from one.

[Cataholic]

Cell phone, only.

I have never used my landline for 'emergency purposes' in my entire life (at least no time that comes to mind, immediately). Could it happen? Sure. But, there are other things that occupy my worry time before that one.

[jackie]

I have both, but use my cell most often.

I have the land line for long distance calls, and the occasional local call.

[CathyBogart]

We don'thave a land line here....and it hasn't caused any problems.

[Catty1]

Kim - you might want to call your cell company in case they have a new package available.

Also - call their competitors!

Is there a less expensive 'land line' deal you can get? (not likely, I know).

I use my home as an office a lot, and land line is perfect for me. I use the cell when I am in my car or away from home...I don't often have to make calls.

[Catty1]

Kim - you might want to call your cell company in case they have a new package available.

Also - call their competitors!

Is there a less expensive 'land line' deal you can get? (not likely, I know).

I use my home as an office a lot, and land line is perfect for me. I use the cell when I am in my car or away from home...I don't often have to make calls on it.

Mom and I are heading to Winnipeg in September - the cell phone will be a FOR SURE! Stuff can happen.

[Grace]

We live at the bottom of a hill - no cell reception here. Also need the landline for satellite TV.

I have a friend with only a cell phone. She seems to have no problems. But I think I will always keep a landline. Old-fashioned, I guess.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

For a long time we had both a land line and our cell phones, we NEVER used the land line so we got rid of it. Justin works at home though and using his cell for work got to be too much so he got a land line for his office.

If your battery is low and you need to make a call you can plug it in and talk on it while it's plugged in. If the battery is low and the power is out you can always plug it into your car.

[Pam]

I mostly use my land line but do admit to loving my cell. I am able to be reached now everywhere I go, which is, I guess, undesirable to some people. :)

When I come home from work I immediately plug in my cell and I rely on the land line for the rest of the day unless I go out again. Then I grab my cell and put it back in my pocketbook. My question to those of you who only have cells is this.... when your cell is charging what happens when someone is trying to call? I would imagine you are just unreachable for that space of time, and I don't ever want that. If I leave it on while I am charging it, it doesn't fully charge. :confused:

[Catlady711]

We used to have a landline for hubby to use (mom and I have a shared minutes cell plan because we talk to each other so often) and we used to have dial up internet.

Because of higher and higher landline bills we eventually: Upgraded to broadband internet, dumped the landline, AND added a third cell phone to the package and we're STILL saving $20 a month over supposedly 'cheap' internet with that dang landline.

We frequently charge our phones at night so they are ready to use during the day, and on trips we can charge in the car.

I wouldn't go back to a landline if you paid me.

[sweetpatata6]

OTHER: We mainly use our cells, but we have a landline that my mom wants to get rid of.

[moosmom]

I have a landline strictly for my laptop. I use my cellphone as my primary phone. So much cheaper cuz I get free nights and weekends and can talk to my family and friends from far away without the hassle of long distance charges.

[Flatcoatluver]

I don't really use my cell, I always have it with me just incase of emergencys. I use it to call one friend and text msg another friend but that's only about once a week.

[Laura's Babies]

After Hurrican Ivan, it took the phone company so long to restore phone service that my sister realized she didn't need a land line anymore... but that was in a town with good cell coverage.

I also know a guy who's father died because he did have a heart attack and no land phone to call for help and this guy had taken his cell phone with him when he left. His Dad made it to a neighbors where he died on their front porch.

[catnapper]

Hmmm.... some interesting thoughts.

As for cell battery dying, not worried since we're all obsessed with charging it. Pam, even when the phone is charging you can still receive calls. Our phones are never turned off.

If the power goes out, our land lines go out. We're supposed to have battery backup with the cable phones, but what is supposed to be and what is are two different things. :rolleyes: So in an emergency we could never rely on the land lines -- they're dead.

There are 5 of us in the house with cells. Soon to be 6 with SIL moving in. If any one of us can't locate our phone, there's someone else right there with theirs. I am far from worried about having a phone handy in any emergency situation. We'll have more than enough!

As for cell coverage, its awesome here. No problems in the house. No problems even in the elevator at work! :eek: We have superb coverage and never get dropped calls. If anything, people complain of not being able to hear us on the land line!!!!

[Grace]

Hmmm.... some interesting thoughts.
If the power goes out, our land lines go out. We're supposed to have battery backup with the cable phones, but what is supposed to be and what is are two different things. :rolleyes: So in an emergency we could never rely on the land lines -- they're dead.


Cable doesn't count as a true land line - IMHO. We have Ma Bell, and we have had phone service through ice storms and thunder storms; we have had phone service without electricity and/or cable service. Our neighbors have cable phone - they constantly have difficulties while we just chug along.

[Catty1]

When I got cable TV, I switched the phone and internet over.

I am switching the phone BACK - there were some repairs made, but I still have dropped a call - and sometimes people who call me have the phone continuing to ring or going right to voice mail...this is after I answer!

Back to the good old reliable line.

ETA - am near mountains, and there are places near here where there is no signal...so I can't rely soley on my cell.

AND got a deal on LD - http://www.myworldtalk.com/affinity/aff_ldsp.html They are out of Toronto, but likely have service from elsewhere.

No fees or contracts - 3 cents a minute in Canada. Deal for me! If I don't use $2.99 per month, I get charged that...unless I don't make ANY LD calls at all.

[jenluckenbach]

I don't use the phone, cell OR land line. (LOL) But really, I only have a cell ohone for emergencies on the road. I never even turn it on unless I have to call out.


But that is just me. :o

I know that we have customers (of the grooming shop) who only have a cell phone. We always get their home number, for our records, but many tell us they do NOT have a "home number".

My bet is that in your situation, you could easily drop your land line. As long as you are sure you will get enough minutes with your plan. I can't see any reason you should pay the extra to have a land line.

[Craftlady]

We have our internet service bundled with our phone line.
Also with daytime minute limitations I dont have people call me on the cell unless it's business related. We use our land line to make local calls. Since we are active in church now we are always getting calls on regular basis on land line.
We each have our own cell phone # and can talk mobile to moblie for free unlimited minutes. Use it for long distance calls.
I also use my cell for business line.
I always call my phone with me at all times.

[dogzr#1]

We got rid of our land line because everyone had a cell phone. Even when we did have it, we hardly used it. It hasn't caused us any sort of problems or anything and it is much easier to give your friend YOUR own cell phone number, instead of the house phone number. It gives a sense of privacy. If that made any sense xD

[Twisterdog]

I have a land line only because I own a business. Otherwise, I don't think we'd have one at all.