Are landlines becoming extinct?

[ithos]

How much does a copper landline cost now? For south of 466A, Century Link is apparently turning their landline service over to ATT .

Is there anyone else who has switched to Comcast/Xfinity and kept their landline? Not the streaming type but the old fashioned ma bell kind invented in the 19th century.

What are you paying for it and from whom?

With fewer residential users and the same infrastructure, it seems the costs are just going to keep going higher.

Thanks for the feedback.

[vintageogauge]

We have plug in wired land lines with Comcast $8.95/month unlimited calling and a bunch of features.

[Kenswing]

We have a landline now. When we move to The Villages we won't. Our landline here never rings unless it's a telemarketer.

[Debfrommaine]

We have plug in wired land lines with Comcast $8.95/month unlimited calling and a bunch of features.

Same here.

[ithos]

This is the major advantage of traditional phone service vs VOIP.
Accurate 911 service: Placing a 911 call from a landline is reliable and accurate. When the national emergency 911 system was established, landlines were the only phone option.

Plus I still get interruptions on my internet which would affect the phone service.

This if for my parents as I only have a cell phone.

[ithos]

and this

Emergency calls cannot be made from VoIP phones if there is no Internet connectivity for any reason whatsoever. Location, power and Internet connectivity are the three main reasons why VoIP providers are unable to guarantee emergency calling on their services.

[asianthree]

On call so land line is required

[Nucky]

I bought an Old School Phone Handset and hooked it up to my Cell Phone. That's as close to a house phone as we'll ever get.

There is a way to hook up your Cell Phone to a bunch of Wireless House Phones Via Bluetooth. It works. I did it for a friend who put the phones in a box in the middle of the '90s. He has a phone in every room of his house. I think he has 7 or 8 phones all off his Cell Line.

[Bilyclub]

Been using only our cells for almost 10 years.

[JoMar]

We have a landline through Spectrum along with internet and cable package. Just find it easier to talk on a regular phone than a cell phone. Personal preference. Spectrum also has nomorobo included so telemarketing calls are greatly reduced.

[skyking]

Haven't had a landline since 1999. We use Bluetooth connected phones so we can call or answer from any room.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

This is the major advantage of traditional phone service vs VOIP.
Accurate 911 service: Placing a 911 call from a landline is reliable and accurate. When the national emergency 911 system was established, landlines were the only phone option.

Plus I still get interruptions on my internet which would affect the phone service.

This if for my parents as I only have a cell phone.

Another major advantage of POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service, yes it's an actual term): when the electricity goes out, the phone still works, and you don't have to worry about your cell phone battery going dead (since, if there's no electricity, you aren't charging your cellphone either).

[Kenswing]

Another major advantage of POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service, yes it's an actual term): when the electricity goes out, the phone still works, and you don't have to worry about your cell phone battery going dead (since, if there's no electricity, you aren't charging your cellphone either).
You don't have a car charger for your cell phone? Add that to your survival kit.. :icon_wink:

[retiredguy123]

We have plug in wired land lines with Comcast $8.95/month unlimited calling and a bunch of features.
There are two types of "landlines". The old fashioned landline is an analog wire that comes into your house through a low voltage wire, not through a COAX cable. The "landline" service sold by Comcast and other cable companies is not that type of service. The Comcast service is a digital service that comes into your house through the Comcast COAX cable and connects to a modem. You can connect a regular analog phone wire from the modem to a phone jack in your house, which will power all of the phone jacks in your house. But, it is not a true analog landline. Comcast does not offer a landline service powered by the analog wires that come into your house. If you want a true old fashioned analog landline, you need to buy it from another phone service provider, not a cable company.

[John41]

How much does a copper landline cost now? For south of 466A, Century Link is apparently turning their landline service over to ATT .

Is there anyone else who has switched to Comcast/Xfinity and kept their landline? Not the streaming type but the old fashioned ma bell kind invented in the 19th century.

What are you paying for it and from whom?

With fewer residential users and the same infrastructure, it seems the costs are just going to keep going higher.

Thanks for the feedback.

about $68 per month

[Ecuadog]

Here, my copper-wire landline from CenturyLink costs about $38.50 per month.

After tropical storm Sandy on Long Island, NY, my landline was the only thing working. No electricity. No VOIP. No cell towers.

I try to have fun with the telemarketers.

[Mikey Osmond]

I haven't used a landline in quite a few yrs now.

[Two Bills]

Just pick up the landline receiver and hear the dial tone, lets you know you are not alone in the world.
Hardly use it these days, but like an old pair of slippers, comforting to have around!

[Stu from NYC]

When we moved here earlier this year we planned to do away with landlne but got a bundling deal with xfinity that landline was very cheap so we did it.

Do use it very infrequently and when talking to our kids now use cell making 3 way call.

[ithos]

It does seem that that our analog copper landlines are at risk.

Save Landlines! – Defending Our Analog Copper Landline Network (https://savelandlines.org/)

Comcast offers VOIP. Not traditional phone service.

In a hurricane where power and cell phones go out, or when your internet service drops out(which still happens occasionally) , VOIP doesn't work.

Why is your landline phone dead? (https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/29/why-is-your-landline-phone-dead/)

They also favor VoIP for regulatory reasons. In 2012, the state lost authority over VoIP, so the California Public Regulatory Commission can’t require backup power. Companies only offer it voluntarily. And there’s no obligation to guarantee universal access and fair prices to consumers, according to the nonprofits Electronic Frontier Foundation and The Utility Reform Network.

[JoelJohnson]

Dropped our land line 30 years ago. If someone wants me they call my cell, if they want my wife they call hers.

[Cheapbas]

It’s just not a home without a home phone

[GreySkies]

When my parents were retired and into their later years (80+) I made sure they had a POTS line just for the accuracy of 911 calls and available service even in a power outage. For that reason alone I feel the cost was justified, I would probably want it myself in about 20 years if they are still available.

[matandch]

I use Ooma VOIP for landline service. Backfed through home jack system to make multiple phone use possible. Downside, as mentioned before by others, when power/internet fails so goes phones. I do have a cell phone which can serve as a backup in the event of power/internet failure. Cost for Ooma -$5/mo.

[Malsua]

The problem with POTS these days is that it largely no longer exists at least as it was 50 years ago.

Yes, there is a copper wire coming to your house. That wire connects to your house is dumped onto a fiber trunk at some point(often before it gets to the central office) and it's no longer analog. It no longer has the reliance and fault tolerance that the POTS of the cold war era had.

When the backup generators and batteries of the cell towers go down in a power outage, chances are good that your POTS will go too. In fact, they may shut down the POTS first to allow a longer run time of the cell service.

[guppyvii]

I haven’t had a landline since 2007. Google and Apple have rolled out a service that will give your location if you call 911. If you set up your emergency contacts it will also notify them that your phone has requested emergency assistance and share your location for a given time. See first link below. Later versions of the Apple Watch will call 911 if your heart stops for a certain time or it senses a hard impact like a fall or car accident. It asks you first, if no response it calls for you. Pros and Cons to that, but we don’t want to bogart the original post. Keep your landline, mine only received spam calls too. Just know there is technology out there that will still you let you make an emergency call on a smart device.
Use Emergency SOS on your Apple Watch - Apple Support (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206983)
Use fall detection with Apple Watch - Apple Support (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208944)

[Morgkell]

We solved the problem of a landline by using Magic Jack. It is only $29/year and we give it to those who we don’t want to hear from by phone so we know we don’t need to answer them. It just plugs into our regular phone jacks.

[kendi]

Another major advantage of POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service, yes it's an actual term): when the electricity goes out, the phone still works, and you don't have to worry about your cell phone battery going dead (since, if there's no electricity, you aren't charging your cellphone either).

Yes! This is the main reason we kept our landline up North. Then we switched to fiber optics and were sorry we did. Goes out with the electricity. Ugh! 😫 Had no idea.

[Madelaine Amee]

No will not give up my landline. I have a cell phone, but I still do all my business on the landline. The cell is an emergency phone, only close friends and family members have the number. It works for me.

[Freehiker]

Haven’t had a land line since the late 90’s.

[stan the man]

love your acronym POTS nice FI

[newgirl]

I would love to find a way to do this! I hate talking on my cell, miss how comfortable talking with the old fashion handle .

[Brent]

Of course you need gas for the car for that to work.

[coconutmama]

We have a landline through Spectrum along with internet and cable package. Just find it easier to talk on a regular phone than a cell phone. Personal preference. Spectrum also has nomorobo included so telemarketing calls are greatly reduced.

We do too, for these reasons & 911 accuracy. Also it is easier to read the ID of a caller on our television as we only give out the landline # to businesses.

[retiredguy123]

I would love to find a way to do this! I hate talking on my cell, miss how comfortable talking with the old fashion handle .
Amazon has several devices that will do what you want. I don't know which one to buy or how well they work. But, they do get good reviews.

[retiredguy123]

If you have the Xfinity Mobile cell phone service and landline, you could replace your Xfinity landline service with an extra cell phone for a very low monthly fee, probably less than the cost of the landline. If you kept the extra cell phone in your house, you wouldn't need to use any data because it would always be connected to the WiFi network. Also, it would serve as a temporary replacement if you lose your other cell phone.

[davem4616]

I still do some consulting work...so I have a land line for my business number...however it's not the plug in type, it's included in the Comcast bundle. When we were in Ft Lauderdale the old copper wiring was horrible and I couldn't eliminate receiving the radio transmissions on our phone from a tower that was nearby...moved here and decided that it ain't broken, so left it be

[kendi]

Just pick up the landline receiver and hear the dial tone, lets you know you are not alone in the world.
Hardly use it these days, but like an old pair of slippers, comforting to have around!

We use it when home alone to call our cell phone when It’s been misplaced.

[BlackhawksFan]

I'd say about 70% of the people I know have no landline. We dumped ours nearly 10 years ago.

[Cranford61]

We have plug in wired land lines with Comcast $8.95/month unlimited calling and a bunch of features.
Obsolete

[72lions]

When we moved here earlier this year we planned to do away with landlne but got a bundling deal with xfinity that landline was very cheap so we did it.

Do use it very infrequently and when talking to our kids now use cell making 3 way call.

This is not a true land line. It still requires a functioning modem. No internet, no phone.

[Topspinmo]

How much does a copper landline cost now? For south of 466A, Century Link is apparently turning their landline service over to ATT .

Is there anyone else who has switched to Comcast/Xfinity and kept their landline? Not the streaming type but the old fashioned ma bell kind invented in the 19th century.

What are you paying for it and from whom?

With fewer residential users and the same infrastructure, it seems the costs are just going to keep going higher.

Thanks for the feedback.

I’ll give it 5 more years, as older folks die off so will the land line telephones. I also think coax cable will also be gone in few short years. Everything will be wireless.

[Topspinmo]

We do too, for these reasons & 911 accuracy. Also it is easier to read the ID of a caller on our television as we only give out the landline # to businesses.

Why? If they ask For my number I say I call you if I need you’re service. Medical appointments are the only exceptIon for me.

[ithos]

The problem with POTS these days is that it largely no longer exists at least as it was 50 years ago.

Yes, there is a copper wire coming to your house. That wire connects to your house is dumped onto a fiber trunk at some point(often before it gets to the central office) and it's no longer analog. It no longer has the reliance and fault tolerance that the POTS of the cold war era had.

When the backup generators and batteries of the cell towers go down in a power outage, chances are good that your POTS will go too. In fact, they may shut down the POTS first to allow a longer run time of the cell service.
That is interesting. Do you have a reference for this? I seen Recent anecdotal reports of people losing all comms except for their landline. Such as in hurricanes and forest fires .never heard a report . Losing their traditional phone line but did not lose cellphone service and the Internet.
It seems strange that landline phone Phone calls to the traditional copper line would be going through a cell phone tower. I could see it with VOIP.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Just pick up the landline receiver and hear the dial tone, lets you know you are not alone in the world.
Hardly use it these days, but like an old pair of slippers, comforting to have around! a friend I guess

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Cord been cut for 21 years, lived through a destructive hurricane in Punta Gorda if your home is destroyed your not going to be able to use land line, everyone needs to have a couple of chargers handy , you can now get a cordless one also charge it up and keep it handy

[airstreamingypsy]

I haven't had a landline since 1999.

[Skip]

I use Ooma VOIP for landline service. Backfed through home jack system to make multiple phone use possible. Downside, as mentioned before by others, when power/internet fails so goes phones. I do have a cell phone which can serve as a backup in the event of power/internet failure. Cost for Ooma -$5/mo.

I tried OOMA VOIP on our Comcast Blast two years ago. Person on the other end said they heard echoes of themselves. Didn't matter who initiated the call. We could not have a conversation it was so bad for them. Was on the phone with OOMA service often to get it resolved (download new firmware many times over, etc.). Took a whole month and still was not resolved. Even the senior tech on the other end understood and heard the problem. Took another month and fighting to get a full refund. Their tech department does not talk to their billing department. Glad I did not get rid of our home number. So for us, OOMA with COMCAST did NOT work. I believe it was our Comcast local node at fault trying to do duplex with IP.

If you have a whole house security system, like us, (fire/intrusion/flood with no monthly monitoring fee BTW), you need to have a POTS dial tone if you don't want to rely on Comcast. With POTS, if the electricity in the area goes off, you still have phone service. POTS runs on a DC battery system invented by A.G.Bell. Your digital phone station may not work but an old fashioned handset on the line still works without electric in the area. A security system with battery backup dialer (like ours) still works, so you DON'T need internet or electricity to dial out.

If electric goes out, sometimes cell service goes out too (depending on the tower location). Most now have backup generators (if they work!).

If you are out of town and a storm breaks a window in your house and rain comes in, our system dials 5 numbers: 911, your cell#, spouse's cell# and two local friends that can come and repair the damage because they have a house key. The security system earns us an insurance discount too.

So we have Centurylink POTS at $50+ /month without Caller ID. Wish I could drop the long distance portion. We use our cell phones for long distance cause it's free.

Anyone have Centurylink POTS without a long distance add on? I'd like to know.

For some, POTS is not dead. Hope this helps.

Skip

[greenflash245]

they are disappearing

[rmd2]

It does seem that that our analog copper landlines are at risk.

Save Landlines! – Defending Our Analog Copper Landline Network (https://savelandlines.org/)

Comcast offers VOIP. Not traditional phone service.

In a hurricane where power and cell phones go out, or when your internet service drops out(which still happens occasionally) , VOIP doesn't work.

Why is your landline phone dead? (https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/29/why-is-your-landline-phone-dead/)

They also favor VoIP for regulatory reasons. In 2012, the state lost authority over VoIP, so the California Public Regulatory Commission can’t require backup power. Companies only offer it voluntarily. And there’s no obligation to guarantee universal access and fair prices to consumers, according to the nonprofits Electronic Frontier Foundation and The Utility Reform Network.

Apparently this is true because I always thought I had a regular landline. I get my phone service through Comcast. When hurricane Irma went through and I lost electric for several days I did not have ANY phone service -- not from my hard-wire phone (Comcast) or my cell phone or my internet. Nothing for days.

[Ecuadog]

...
Anyone have Centurylink POTS without a long distance add on? I'd like to know.
...
Skip

I don't have the LD add-on. I pay about $38.50 per month.

[NoMoSno]

An extra $30 with internet service through Centurylink.
After hurricane Irma only our land line worked.

[Malsua]

That is interesting. Do you have a reference for this? I seen Recent anecdotal reports of people losing all comms except for their landline. Such as in hurricanes and forest fires .never heard a report . Losing their traditional phone line but did not lose cellphone service and the Internet.
It seems strange that landline phone Phone calls to the traditional copper line would be going through a cell phone tower. I could see it with VOIP.

I know a couple guys who work for telcos and service lines and towers and such(not around TV). The landlines don't go through towers, but since they have backup capacity(Batteries and gensets) at certain "main" towers, they've trunked the POTS lines over there instead of maintaining separate battery banks. It all depends on where really.

The only reason I know this is because I got into a conversation with a buddy who works in the field about the reliability of POTS and he informed me that the POTS lines often terminate at a neighborhood level CO and are translated onto Fiber to get digitally switched. This does not mean they don't have an old copper connection from everywhere to everywhere else(which is somewhat mandated by the government) it's just that those lines are DARK most places and in a disaster, no one is going to bother energizing them either.

Your POTS line will work until the batteries and gensets run down. Then nothing is going to work.

If you live very rural, the POTS lines are the old lines and probably haven't been updated, but we're talking about TV here.

[retiredguy123]

The problem with POTS these days is that it largely no longer exists at least as it was 50 years ago.

Yes, there is a copper wire coming to your house. That wire connects to your house is dumped onto a fiber trunk at some point(often before it gets to the central office) and it's no longer analog. It no longer has the reliance and fault tolerance that the POTS of the cold war era had.

When the backup generators and batteries of the cell towers go down in a power outage, chances are good that your POTS will go too. In fact, they may shut down the POTS first to allow a longer run time of the cell service.
I understand your point, but I would take issue that any phone service 40 or 50 years ago would have been more reliable than today.

[Velvet]

No landline in TV for us, too many telemarketers.

[OhioBuckeye]

How much does a copper landline cost now? For south of 466A, Century Link is apparently turning their landline service over to ATT .

Is there anyone else who has switched to Comcast/Xfinity and kept their landline? Not the streaming type but the old fashioned ma bell kind invented in the 19th century.

What are you paying for it and from whom?

With fewer residential users and the same infrastructure, it seems the costs are just going to keep going higher.

Thanks for the feedback.

Duh, why unless it was package deal to get internet & cable TV. If you’re at home why would anybody want a cell phone & a landline both at home. Cell phones are more convenient!

[Malsua]

I understand your point, but I would take issue that any phone service 40 or 50 years ago would have been more reliable than today.

It was very reliable and was substantially upgraded in the 40s and 50s to withstand nuclear attack. My father worked for AT&T Long Lines and he spoke plenty about it. All the main central offices had what he called "Blow off buildings". All the important stuff could withstand a somewhat nearby bomb going off since it was well underground.

During the blizzard of 1977 in rural Ohio where I grew up, we had no power for almost 2 weeks but the phone worked! I can't recall the phone not working ever and we lived 10 miles outside of nowhere ;).

[biker1]

Ooma works well with CenturyLink fiber to the house. The Ooma box is first in line for IP packets. Our router plugs into the Ooma box.

I tried OOMA VOIP on our Comcast Blast two years ago. Person on the other end said they heard echoes of themselves. Didn't matter who initiated the call. We could not have a conversation it was so bad for them. Was on the phone with OOMA service often to get it resolved (download new firmware many times over, etc.). Took a whole month and still was not resolved. Even the senior tech on the other end understood and heard the problem. Took another month and fighting to get a full refund. Their tech department does not talk to their billing department. Glad I did not get rid of our home number. So for us, OOMA with COMCAST did NOT work. I believe it was our Comcast local node at fault trying to do duplex with IP.

If you have a whole house security system, like us, (fire/intrusion/flood with no monthly monitoring fee BTW), you need to have a POTS dial tone if you don't want to rely on Comcast. With POTS, if the electricity in the area goes off, you still have phone service. POTS runs on a DC battery system invented by A.G.Bell. Your digital phone station may not work but an old fashioned handset on the line still works without electric in the area. A security system with battery backup dialer (like ours) still works, so you DON'T need internet or electricity to dial out.

If electric goes out, sometimes cell service goes out too (depending on the tower location). Most now have backup generators (if they work!).

If you are out of town and a storm breaks a window in your house and rain comes in, our system dials 5 numbers: 911, your cell#, spouse's cell# and two local friends that can come and repair the damage because they have a house key. The security system earns us an insurance discount too.

So we have Centurylink POTS at $50+ /month without Caller ID. Wish I could drop the long distance portion. We use our cell phones for long distance cause it's free.

Anyone have Centurylink POTS without a long distance add on? I'd like to know.

For some, POTS is not dead. Hope this helps.

Skip

[Dman114]

How was this done

[dkaufnelson]

I've had VOIP landline for over 15 years now and just love having it for several reasons.
When I can't find my cell phone, I simply dial the cell ph# on my landline and listen for the ring to locate my cell.
I give this landline number to all businesses, so they can't tie up my cell phone.
Once I give this landline number to businesses, I find most all solicitation comes just to that landline number, not my cell.
Yes, you will lose use of this landline if internet goes out, but I've lived in TV for almost 3 years now and never once lost internet long enough to lose my landline service.
I need a landline to send faxes and it works just fine over VOIP.
Yes, the other landlines will not lose power with loss of internet, but for only $39.99 a year, I feel VOIP is a much better deal.
Just ordered a MagicJack for my friend at only $39 and it gives you one free year of service now as on a special offer. MagicJack has to be placed next to your router or computer, requires an open USB port and the main unit of your portable, wireless landline phone system has to be plugged into your router. NetTalk doesn't require use of a USB port, but not sure they're offering $39 yearly price anymore and they're not offering free 1 year of service with the purchase of their device, so better go with MagicJack.
Try it and see if it works for you!

[John41]

No landline in TV for us, too many telemarketers.

CPR call blocker stopped the telemarketers for us on our landline.

[NavyVet]

Duh, why unless it was package deal to get internet & cable TV. If you’re at home why would anybody want a cell phone & a landline both at home. Cell phones are more convenient!

There is nothing "DUH" about wanting to keep a landline and no, cell phones aren't necessarily more convenient.
1. Quality of sound is just better on landline. Can hear better when not distorted or breaking up.
2. Cell phone not reliable at all when signal is weak inside home and constantly dropping calls.
3. Due to the way cell phone service is set up, providers will not allow you to disable voice mail. This is a problem because ...
4. ... There is no true Call Blocking function. Blocked numbers still go to voice mail so the harassing caller can still leave a message. So call blocking on cell phones is a joke, truly useless. I even called the cell provider for options. They could not block specific numbers and their only solutions were don't listen to your voice mail or change your phone number. Those are not viable solutions!
5. At least with Spectrum landline, you can completely block numbers so your phone doesn't even ring and the caller gets a message "This number is not accepting calls at this time." What I ended up having to do is having ALL calls forwarded from my cell number to my home phone. My cell hasn't rung in 8 months. I use it for texting, Internet, playing games, and making outgoing calls when I'm NOT home.
Living with PTSD, my safety and privacy is of paramount importance. Therefore, I will never give up my landline. Everyone's mileage may vary, but is the duh attitude really necessary?

[chrissy2231]

My landline deal is so cheap with crystal clear clarity. Buy OOMA on Amazon (about $75) , $75 set up, then $5.61 a month for 911 & taxes. My computer handyman charged $40 to install. OOMA is a VOIP. I use my headset with cordless phone and love it. Cell phone is for emergency only. When I go out, I don't want to be on the phone and am put off by friends who choose to take calls while we're together. Now I get up and leave. Cell phones are an unworthy addiction.

[John41]

There is nothing "DUH" about wanting to keep a landline and no, cell phones aren't necessarily more convenient.
1. Quality of sound is just better on landline. Can hear better when not distorted or breaking up.
2. Cell phone not reliable at all when signal is weak inside home and constantly dropping calls.
3. Due to the way cell phone service is set up, providers will not allow you to disable voice mail. This is a problem because ...
4. ... There is no true Call Blocking function. Blocked numbers still go to voice mail so the harassing caller can still leave a message. So call blocking on cell phones is a joke, truly useless. I even called the cell provider for options. They could not block specific numbers and their only solutions were don't listen to your voice mail or change your phone number. Those are not viable solutions!
5. At least with Spectrum landline, you can completely block numbers so your phone doesn't even ring and the caller gets a message "This number is not accepting calls at this time." What I ended up having to do is having ALL calls forwarded from my cell number to my home phone. My cell hasn't rung in 8 months. I use it for texting, Internet, playing games, and making outgoing calls when I'm NOT home.
Living with PTSD, my safety and privacy is of paramount importance. Therefore, I will never give up my landline. Everyone's mileage may vary, but is the duh attitude really necessary?

Also landline phones offer services for the disabled such as arthritis , hearing impaired , visually impaired. Wouldn’t be without these features.

[Steve32162]

We have plug in wired land lines with Comcast $8.95/month unlimited calling and a bunch of features.

Are you sure you have a wired phone line? Comcast's phone service is VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), which is why it's only $9/month. Other than Centurylink, I'm not aware of any other wired phone service in TV.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

My landline deal is so cheap with crystal clear clarity. Buy OOMA on Amazon (about $75) , $75 set up, then $5.61 a month for 911 & taxes. My computer handyman charged $40 to install. OOMA is a VOIP. I use my headset with cordless phone and love it. Cell phone is for emergency only. When I go out, I don't want to be on the phone and am put off by friends who choose to take calls while we're together. Now I get up and leave. Cell phones are an unworthy addiction.

VOIP is not landline. It's VOIP. You need internet service in order for it to work. Landline doesn't require internet service. It also doesn't require electricity.

[Stu from NYC]

Are you sure you have a wired phone line? Comcast's phone service is VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), which is why it's only $9/month. Other than Centurylink, I'm not aware of any other wired phone service in TV.

Hmm something to look into. The price you mention is about the same as we are paying and we are with xfinity a division of comcast.

Perhaps we do not have a regular land line and if so why pay for it.

[Sherry8bal]

We have had StraightTalk landline for a couple of years. About $16.00 a month and it is fine. Way better than prices everyone else wants.

[Labanz]

1992 was the year I took out the landline and went full time to cellphones. At the time people thought I was nuts. I have Not experienced any issues in getting everything I need with the cellphone, including emergency services when required.
I do not believe in holding on to the past.

[Boilerman]

I tried OOMA VOIP on our Comcast Blast two years ago. Person on the other end said they heard echoes of themselves. Didn't matter who initiated the call. We could not have a conversation it was so bad for them. Was on the phone with OOMA service often to get it resolved (download new firmware many times over, etc.). Took a whole month and still was not resolved. Even the senior tech on the other end understood and heard the problem. Took another month and fighting to get a full refund. Their tech department does not talk to their billing department. Glad I did not get rid of our home number. So for us, OOMA with COMCAST did NOT work. I believe it was our Comcast local node at fault trying to do duplex with IP.

Skip

We’ve used OOMA with Comcast/Xfinity internet service here in the Villages for 2 years with no issues. We get crystal clear reception for about $5 a month. We also bring our OOMA box up north to our summer residence to use for calls because the cell reception there is very weak.

[yankygrl]

How much does a copper landline cost now? For south of 466A, Century Link is apparently turning their landline service over to ATT .

Is there anyone else who has switched to Comcast/Xfinity and kept their landline? Not the streaming type but the old fashioned ma bell kind invented in the 19th century.

What are you paying for it and from whom?

With fewer residential users and the same infrastructure, it seems the costs are just going to keep going higher.

Thanks for the feedback.
I live in Lake Deaton and have a landline with service provided by centurylink. I have not been informed that there will be a change to ATT. I have a lifetime guarantee rate with my internet package for $85.00/month. With taxes and other charges total bill is less then $105.00/month. I have no issues. Neither Comcast nor Spectrum would get me a landline without changing existing number which I had for 4 years when I lived above 466A.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

We have had StraightTalk landline for a couple of years. About $16.00 a month and it is fine. Way better than prices everyone else wants.

Straight Talk is not landline. It's a wireless home phone base used to replace landline.

[eddie888]

I have been here for 15 years and thank goodness for land lines. There have been many times thru storms or hurricanes , my cell phone did not work. Thank goodness I had a landline. That’s all I have to say about that

[PJackpot]

The infrastructure here does not support traditional copper lines. Any voice service is VoIP. POTS stands for plain old telephone service, but does not indicate a traditional copper line to the home.

[chrissy2231]

OOMA base is bought on-line then set up at home. After that, monthly billing is $5.61 making yearly total $67.32. Your phone number is then ported. No other provider is needed. Best deal ever! Never use Magic Jack.

[chrissy2231]

Holding on to the past when it provides a huge saving is equivalent to Clark Kent changing into his Superman costume and saving the world. Where is he when we need him to obliterate Covid?

[chrissy2231]

OOMA provides porting your number which is why I bought OOMA to pay a yearly total of $67.32 for 911 & tax.

[biker1]

South of 466A (and other areas), CenturyLink is fiber optic cable to the house. This means that you don't have a "land line" in the traditional sense of copper wires. Essentially, you have CenturyLink's Voice-over-IP phone service (plus internet service). While there may be some convenience to having a "land line" from CenturyLink, you could be paying less. If you reduce your service to internet only then your price-for-life would be $49 per month (IIRC). You can then buy an Ooma box to provide essentially the same "land line" service (Voice-over-IP) you have now for about $5 per month. You can generally keep the same number by having it ported over to Ooma. I have been using Ooma for 6+ years.

I live in Lake Deaton and have a landline with service provided by centurylink. I have not been informed that there will be a change to ATT. I have a lifetime guarantee rate with my internet package for $85.00/month. With taxes and other charges total bill is less then $105.00/month. I have no issues. Neither Comcast nor Spectrum would get me a landline without changing existing number which I had for 4 years when I lived above 466A.

[newchapter]

We haven't had a landline in 8 years.

[Topspinmo]

There is nothing "DUH" about wanting to keep a landline and no, cell phones aren't necessarily more convenient.
1. Quality of sound is just better on landline. Can hear better when not distorted or breaking up.
2. Cell phone not reliable at all when signal is weak inside home and constantly dropping calls.
3. Due to the way cell phone service is set up, providers will not allow you to disable voice mail. This is a problem because ...
4. ... There is no true Call Blocking function. Blocked numbers still go to voice mail so the harassing caller can still leave a message. So call blocking on cell phones is a joke, truly useless. I even called the cell provider for options. They could not block specific numbers and their only solutions were don't listen to your voice mail or change your phone number. Those are not viable solutions!
5. At least with Spectrum landline, you can completely block numbers so your phone doesn't even ring and the caller gets a message "This number is not accepting calls at this time." What I ended up having to do is having ALL calls forwarded from my cell number to my home phone. My cell hasn't rung in 8 months. I use it for texting, Internet, playing games, and making outgoing calls when I'm NOT home.
Living with PTSD, my safety and privacy is of paramount importance. Therefore, I will never give up my landline. Everyone's mileage may vary, but is the duh attitude really necessary?


They can’t block number cause they Are the ones selling
Blocks of hundreds to telemarketers and scammers.

[mcmanirog]

Moved APRIL 2019, from The Villages to Lake Side Landing , next store, and Comcast cabel, Internet and old fashion land line phone service moved with us.

[bowlingal]

I have Comcast...triple play. I have a landline and I wouldn't give it up. it costs about $20/month with all 3 services

[retiredguy123]

I have Comcast...triple play. I have a landline and I wouldn't give it up. it costs about $20/month with all 3 services
I understand that it should be about $10 per month with the triple play bundle. And, occasionally, they will offer a special where the triple play is less expensive than the double play, so they will actually pay you to take the phone service.

[biker1]

Regarding cellphone reliability inside your house, most (all) contemporary cellphones support Wi-Fi calling where your cellphone will essentially do a Voice-over-IP call via Wi-Fi through your router instead of using the cell towers. Our cell performance inside our house is solid.



2. Cell phone not reliable at all when signal is weak inside home and constantly dropping calls.

[Heartnsoul]

No. Love mine. Hate talking on a cell

[ithos]

Does anyone know if the new homes being built being provided with analog copper landlines? Or are they VOIP?

[CoachKandSportsguy]

New houses are all VOIP. I have my cable modem on a UPS so the internet and phone still worked during a local blackout. Laptops with a battery worked for several hours and internet up for several hours until all the batteries died. have two UPS boxes, and one was used for powering phones when their batteries ran low as well.

You might want to think about a UPS for the cable model and the VOIP phone just in case.

sportsguy

[Marshaw]

They are, not becoming. Cell for everything. Phone co thinks differantly

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Another downside to "not" having landline: Many people in the Villages don't have unlimited text and voice. Instead, they have older services provided by companies such as TracPhone, and others. That means they pay for a certain number of minutes per month. After that, the service shuts off and their phone won't work for anything but dialing 911.

If you are in a situation like I'm in right this minute, your monthly minutes would've expired by now. I'm on hold with the home warranty company. I've been on hold for almost an hour, mostly just to see how long it takes for someone to answer. It's my second time trying to get someone to answer.

I'm guessing they won't cover my AC replacement anyway. Thankfully I have unlimited talk and text. But not having unlimited talk and text is actually a thing for many Villagers.

[HollyandPeter]

When we move down in 2022, we plan to have an analog landline for the emergency reasons mentioned.

[tophcfa]

I asked our daughter if she thought land lines were going extinct. She wanted to know what a landline is?

[Marshaw]

If you have a cell they are obsolete