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Verizon Freedom Essentials $61.99 /month
Includes unlimited local, regional toll and long distance calling across the U.S. and to Canada and Puerto Rico- PLUS these popular calling features: Voice Mail, Caller ID, and Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and 3-Way Calling.
I was talking with my friend who has this service, but with taxes and fees it was costing almost $90/month. She has a single corded phone hooked up because she hates phones. She does not transmit medical data.
Her argument was that she needs reliable phone service in all situations including power outage because her mother is severely disabled.
Is that a valid argument anymore? We could go ten years without a power outage. Should you spend that kind of money on a possibility?
She also has a Verizon wireless flip phone service with unlimited minutes.
She also has a Verizon wireless flip phone service with unlimited minutes.
Then she can cut the landline - which IS more reliable - to the bare minimum.
That is what we did. No frills, not long distance, etc... Regional essentials - about $20.
Wouldn't the cell phone work during a power outage?
Yes, cell phones will function as long as the battery lasts. If you are not snowed in, you can usually go to a Panera or a cafe and recharge your phone. I have a $200 gasoline generator which would allow me to get enough power to recharge phones, heat water, run a space heater, and a computer or a television.
My friend cannot do any of those things because she can't leave her bedridden mother alone for five minutes.
Landlines have a giant battery storage room with a generator attached maintained by the phone company. They can keep the phone lines open for weeks without power.
On 28 January 1878 the first commercial North American telephone exchange is opened in New Haven, Connecticut.
The first large scale central power station in America was Edison's Pearl Street Station in New York, which began operating in September, 1882. The station had six 200 horsepower Edison dynamos, each powered by a separate steam engine. It was located in a business and commercial district and supplied 110 volt direct current to 85 customers with 400 lamps. By 1884 Pearl Street was supplying 508 customers with 10,164 lamps.
So phone networks and commercial electrification were developed around the same time. Long term blackouts were common so phone networks were designed with giant battery backups so they could function long term. But we are in a small city so long term blackouts are rare.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitt Chick
Then she can cut the landline - which IS more reliable - to the bare minimum.
That is what we did. No frills, not long distance, etc... Regional essentials - about $20.
That might work. I will check and see what is a "local call" and if her doctors are inside local area.
Does Verizon Still have lifeline service? That might be cheaper.
If the power is out, How long can she stay in the house with her bedridden mother till it gets to hot or cold?
Is Verizon Landline still a POTS line, or is a VOIP "Line" that "looks" like a landline.
If the power lines go down. Odds are the Phone Lines/Cable lines will go down with them.
Does Verizon Still have lifeline service? That might be cheaper.
If the power is out, How long can she stay in the house with her bedridden mother till it gets to hot or cold?
I believe lifeline is what was referred to as local service in the previous post.
I agree with your comment. People think of the phone simply because it is part of their reportoire, but she has no generator or backup batteries.
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyonpa
Is Verizon Landline still a POTS line, or is a VOIP "Line" that "looks" like a landline.
If the power lines go down. Odds are the Phone Lines/Cable lines will go down with them.
I believe Verizon must retain POTS as an option by law. The cable companies have almost entirely switched to VOIP AFAIK.
Verizon Freedom Essentials $61.99 /month
Includes unlimited local, regional toll and long distance calling across the U.S. and to Canada and Puerto Rico- PLUS these popular calling features: Voice Mail, Caller ID, and Call Waiting, Call Forwarding and 3-Way Calling.
I was talking with my friend who has this service, but with taxes and fees it was costing almost $90/month. She has a single corded phone hooked up because she hates phones. She does not transmit medical data.
Her argument was that she needs reliable phone service in all situations including power outage because her mother is severely disabled.
Is that a valid argument anymore? We could go ten years without a power outage. Should you spend that kind of money on a possibility?
She also has a Verizon wireless flip phone service with unlimited minutes.
Landline phone = wasted $$$$$. If you have cellular unlimited voice service it is a lot cheaper and works when power is out.
I believe Verizon must retain POTS as an option by law.
They are obligated to maintain POTS service for those households that have stuck with it uninterrupted since there were alternatives, but once a household has switched, many customers have found that the obligation is apparently lifted and they are not able to switch back.
Even the obligation to maintain POTS service will probably be gone someday:
Quote:
But the FCC is on course to let Verizon, AT&T, and other phone companies stop maintaining the old Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) by around 2020, eventually moving everyone to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service. This shift could come with a loss of consumer protection rules such as price caps and "carrier of last resort" obligations to provide wireline phone service to anyone who asks for it.
If FCC does not let them Drop the PSTN copper lines, they cost to get a line will be so high, to support the limited number of copper users, that no one will be able to afford it, As more drop it, the infrastructure costs goes spread over smaller and smaller user base.
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