Basic Phone Service
 

Is any one paying for basic phone service (landline) or is every one using cell phones in TV??

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Donna,

We have an embarq landline...about $27/month ($10 of which is taxes arrrgh). We chose this route because neither of us are big cell phone users and we like the clarity of the landline and we are full timers.

We do use ECG communications as our LD provider....costs about 2.5 cents per minute to call outside FL and 9 cents a minute for LD calls inside FL (go figure) with no minimum monthly charges.

Once other local options get more reliable and when Embarq goes up above $30/month we will consider ditching it.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

We are using the MagicJack (VOIP) phone that is $40 a year unlimited calling. Seems that is all we need as a back-up to cells and the 911 works. It is the most inexpensive solution we have found.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

We were paying lots of big bucks for Embarq and Comcast and AOL. Now we combined all three with Comcast and our bill is $50.00 a month cheapr PLUS we get HBO for a year, AND free long distance calling in USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, and several more countries.
I do not talk on my cell phone as some do, but I always carry it with me for emergencies, of which there haven't been any yet, thank GOD!!!
L.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

I'm pondering this and initial thoughts were cell only, however the quality really is lacking.
I don't yet know.... magikjack sounds interesting, but you can't get a 352 area code.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Laura.... AOL has been free for some time now if you are not dialup. If you now have comcast broadband, you can still use aol free. I suggest that you dump embarq and get either magic jack or comcast phone service where you pay so much less and have all the bells and whistles of free long distance, caller ID, call waiting, 911, etc. Real great moneysaver. ....b

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

We use only VOIP for only 24.95 a month unlimited calling US and Canada and some overseas countries. You can talk for hours....no extra.....how can you beat that?
We use VONAGE.....very, very good service and quality

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

MagicJack is $20 a YEAR !! Can't beat that. ....b

http://www.magicjack.com/4/index.asp

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Is Comcast now offering phone service in The Villages?

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

I read on another thread that comcast is now offering phone service, yes......b

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

what is majic jack and where can you get it???

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Here it is, Donna.....

http://www.magicjack.com/4/index.asp

One of the many good features is that it is portable and you can take it with you and use it anywhere you have access to the internet. All you do is plug this very small adapter into your computer and the other end into a phone. How easy is that? I find that best results for clarity is to keep the audio volume on your computer low.......b

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Barb..Thanks so much.. ;)

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

LAura
You are saving $50 but what are you paying and what are you getting for that cost. W are fniallly moving to TV in 2-3 weeks and this would be very helpful information. CABle (what level), telephone, internet and what else.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

How is the reception on the MajicJack??? Is it clear?? :dontknow:

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

We just received our MajicJack yesterday and have made several calls. It is very clear, in addition it has caller ID, call waiting and three way calling. Hard to believe it's $20.00 a year. In addition to free domestic and long distance they have a very inexpensive rate for international calls.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Just because it's so darned cheap, I'm going to have to give majikjack a try.
I'd prefer they had a 352 area codes (apparently not on the drawing board yet) but I'll deal with it. Landlines are just too pricey considering I mostly use my cell.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

OK OK OK...I can't keep my mouth shut and have to give my opinion about Magicjack.

Yes, it's cheap. Yes, it has clear reception. Yes, it's a savings to those who have it installed as their primary phone. My phone wouldn't work so an added expense was us having to buy a better phone (that we needed anyway) in order for MJ to work.

However, we returned ours. I can't, no matter what, have a phone service where anyone local who calls me is charged long distance! Since Magicjack does not have a local area code, any neighbor or local resident who wants to call is charged long distance charges.

If my next door neighbor needed to call me...s/he would have to pay long distance charges.

I couldn't do that to my friends!

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Bright... I think we all feel the same as you, however, most people who use MJ also use a cell phone for backup and our cell has a local TV number. Also, many subscribers are now foregoing the land line and going to comcast, vonage, and the like where there is no charge for long-distance calling. The only peeps one would be imposing a LD charge would be those without the LD free service.

More and more are giving up the landline service because of the expense and cost for any and all extra services, as well as the ridiculous tax and service charges over and above the basic charge.

Even if you just used MJ for free outgoing calls, that would be a savings if you subscribe to a landline phone service that doesn't offer free LD calling.

This is merely my rationale re landline vs netline; it's all relative, yes? Each of us have our own special ideas on the subject. Whatever choices one makes is their prerogative, of course. .....b

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

I guess it's simply a matter of cost-benefit. Paying Embarq $30-50 a month so that my friends don't (only if they also have Embarq) pay Embarq another couple bucks a month is a personal choice.

As we are seeing, the land-line phone as a stand-alone item is becoming a technology that is fading. There was a time when cellphones were rare and expensive - now every kid over 10 seems to have one. Television antennas were everywhere - now cable and satellite have replaced those antennas almost everywhere. Even the cable companies have bypassed the land-line phone network with their own systems.

Remember: party-lines, when phone numbers were a word followed by 5 numbers, you had to call the LD operator for an out-of-area call (and the cost was unbelievably high), when we didn't know there were such things as area codes, crank and rotary-dial phones?

In my house we also gave thought to the need for a 352 area code and decided it was not a necessity, as long as the phone service (as required by law) linked into the 911 network. I honestly don't know who among my "circle" may pay a per-minute rate for long-distance, but I know many who don't, as we are either using the same cell-provider or they too have an unlimited calling set-up.

As I head toward "fixed income," I'm very conscious of my recurring household costs and am looking at every way possible to limit those costs. I'm sure my "circle" is doing or has done the same. If the competitors to the Embarqs of the world can provide alternatives to the traditional "Ma Bell" sock-it-to-them phone company approach, they will get a shot for my business.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

I ditched Embarq as soon as I learned Comcast now has phone service here with unlimited free long distance calls.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

wiw...

How much is Comcast, basic service...I HATE :edit: cell phones.. ::)

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Donna - I had Embarq phone and Dish Network (billed by Embarq) and Comcast internet.
When I switched to Comcast, I pay for one year $33 for each service - $99/month + taxes for all 3 services.
Comcast has deal for a long-term contract where you can sign up to keep the same introductory prices forever... however, because the phone system is new to the area, that service is not available yet - hopefully it will be after they become established here.


http://www.buycomcast.com/?cpao=111&...FQZinAodjBA5gg

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

wiw..Thanks for the link...I will call tomorrow.. :bigthumbsup:

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We have lived in TV for 2 years. We never got a landline phone, just use cell phones and it works out great. ;D

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MagicJack seems to work good. Better quality the our Verizon Cell phone and when you connect a wireless phone to it you can have several extension connected to it ( important to us) and a good speaker phone for those family conversations back home. Their promises of more area codes seems to be a joke and its a clear draw back as well as having to have your computer up to use it (but it does take messages when your computer isn't up). You just can't come close to beating the price!

For snow birds/flakes its a real good phone consideration and a way to save those minutes you need on cell phones.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Since this is an internet based phone, can a snowbird move it from one home to another?

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Yes, magicJack is portable. You can use it anywhere and take it with you. We take it with us when we go north and use it at the motel (along with our laptop) at the motel by just plugging in the majicJack into our laptop's USB port and unplugging the motel's room phone from the wall jack and plugging in the motel's phone into the majicJack. Works great and best of all there are no charges from the motel because you are not using the motel's phone lines. :bigthumbsup: :bigthumbsup:

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

because of this forum, I found out about Magicjack I ordered it and just did get it and got it up and tunnign in 10 min...simple and clear and will save a lot of money. $20 a year is all is costs. We all might want to look at this.
There are no area codes for TV...closest is Orlando but that does not matter. if you have a lot of friends in TV that call....you can use your cell. But for out going long distance this will save big bucks. And for all other incoming that do not live in TV

Carlent

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

It is true there is no local area code for magicJack at TV. What we do when someone calls us is to return the call so all they have to pay for is 1 minute of long distance on their phone bill. With magicJack there are no long distance charges. We are going to buy our grand daughter a magicJack so she can take it with her when she goes to college. Don't know if she will call us more often but at least we know she won't run up minutes on her cell phone or land line at college.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

I ordered MagicJack too - hope it works like everyone says. I am in Orlando, so it should.

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8757

It will work like a charm wherever you are. Keep us posted

Carlent

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

I bought Magic Jack for TV....am using it here in NY and cannot believe how well it works. It took all of five minutes to install. Just a note, I have automatic updates for Windows Vista and when it updates and my computer restarts. I must reconnect the magic jack. Easy to do.

Shirleevee

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Donna, we use Voice Pulse, which is much like Vontage, Comcast, or Embarq.. We carried our two numbers with us from Illinois and had a 3rd "virtual" number put on with a Florida exchange. Plus, one of our lines we did turn into a landline for our fax machine. They have tons of features, and we only pay about $60 a month.

My only encounter with MagicJack was with Nonie. She has one and says she gets a lot of feedback. I know when we talk, she says she hears an echo on her end. I don't know because I don't own one.

I'm with you, I couldn't use my cell phone all the time.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

If I lower the volumn on my computer, it stops the feedback.

Shirleevee

Magic Jack > 352 area code Made it to Pending Status in Fl !
 

WOW - The 352 area code finally made it to Pending Status in Florida for Magic Jack according to their web site. I guess there is still hope to get a 352 area code, but I'm not holding my breath.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

Magic Jack requires a quality high speed broadband connection. Mine works great in Virginia but has noise and hiss in TV. Comcast for both, but the line quality is not up to standards in TV for VOIP. I am sure it will get better over time. Magic Jack is only $20 a year and has all the features of vonage or any other VOIP provider. I will tolerate the hiss until they improve the quality of comcast in TV. Saves me $500 a year.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

My MagicJack works great (most of the time)! There are some periods when its cuts in and out but in general it has no hiss and I think its a lot better than our Verizon cell phone service here. We are connected wireless to a router also.

Re: Basic Phone Service
 

I've known for years that I was behind the power curve!

I bought my very first cell phone less than a month ago. Its technology blows my mind! I bought the bare bones lowest cost plan, because I seldom use the cell phone, and my long distance calls are few and far between. The only reason I even fell to the pressures was that I was traveling and meeting family at uncertain and unpredictable times, thus, a means of "instant" communication was needed!

My daughters are all far enough away that long-distance calling is a factor. But, today, 90% or more of our conversations are through e-mail, so who needs "an affordable long-distance calling plan?"

SWR

Question on 353 Area Code ?
 

??? I've noticed that the MagicJack Pending Area code for 352 is listed as Gainsville, Florida.
Does it make a difference as long as you have a 352 area code - can others with out long distance call this as a local number since it will have a 352 area code ? I was thinking as long as it was 352 you wouldn't have to dial the 352 from another 352 number and it would be local ?