I was mailed a notice in January from AT&T which says:
Your home phone service is being discontinued
We want to make sure you are aware that effective May 3, 2021, pending regulatory approval where such approval is required, we will no longer offer AT&T Residential Local Service in New Jersey, and your home phone service will be discontinued on May 3, 2021.
I've done some google searches to see if I could find out if this was really happening, and whether this "regulatory approval" was provided... but can't find anything.
I really like my copper landline (regular residential landline - POTS-plain old telephone service), and hate talking on my cell phone:
Landline stayed on even when the power was out... no charging needed
Landline sound is clear
Landline has no speaking/hearing response delays
Landline has just the right sidetone to keep my voice at a normal level (Sidetone is when you can hear your own voice in the phone’s speaker while talking. It tends to make people speak more quietly, since hearing yourself lets your brain know that you can be heard).
Landline has good frequency range (Cell phones cut off higher frequencies- which may be another cause of 'cell yell')
What are people using as landlines now? Pros/cons?
I think the options differ in Maplewood / South Orange / West Orange -- so it might help if you indicate where you are when responding. (I'm in Maplewood).
Fios has a backup battery for phone service only that lasts something like 8 hours.
POTS is going away all over. It's a big expense and fewer and fewer people are using it. They have to maintain a huge room full of batteries relatively close to the end users.
I dislike the new digital landlines too....sure it's more convenient for the phone companies..maybe even less expensive...but as you said, doesn't work when the power is out. I knew a couple people that had old fashioned landlines until recently. One could never get it working, the techs would come, but didn't know how to fix it. the other didn't have an actual phone, but kept the phone service (for a few years--paying for it!!!!). I brought him an extra phone he could use and plugged it in....and there was no dial tone....he gave up and canceled the service.
I had comcast for a while, phone service was spotty. I switched to verizon when it came to the area just to get the gift card (don't remember how much) and cheaper package....service has been a lot more reliable.
there is 'landline' service through FIOS in that it is a house phone. i think they do have old fashioned landline service, but the wiring is failing and not being fixed.
verizon does have an 8 hour battery back up for phone only (not internet/tv)....the battery dies eventually...and when it happened to me, they said I had to pay for a new one...wasn't worth it for the amount of time the power is out and with a cell phone always available.
It's kind of sad. The landline switching systems developed by AT&T are miracles of engineering. A shame to just dismantle them. I think they should leave them in place to make it easier to rebuild from the apocalypse.
I dislike the new digital landlines too....sure it's more convenient for the phone companies..maybe even less expensive...but as you said, doesn't work when the power is out. I knew a couple people that had old fashioned landlines until recently. One could never get it working, the techs would come, but didn't know how to fix it. the other didn't have an actual phone, but kept the phone service (for a few years--paying for it!!!!). I brought him an extra phone he could use and plugged it in....and there was no dial tone....he gave up and canceled the service.
I had comcast for a while, phone service was spotty. I switched to verizon when it came to the area just to get the gift card (don't remember how much) and cheaper package....service has been a lot more reliable.
there is 'landline' service through FIOS in that it is a house phone. i think they do have old fashioned landline service, but the wiring is failing and not being fixed.
verizon does have an 8 hour battery back up for phone only (not internet/tv)....the battery dies eventually...and when it happened to me, they said I had to pay for a new one...wasn't worth it for the amount of time the power is out and with a cell phone always available.
you can buy the battery online for $12 and it is easy to install
I've been happy with Fios. I did have to replace a backup battery once but it was very easy.
You can also get an external battery backup to run the Optical Network Terminal for a while during an outage. Depending on how long you're concerned about outages you can pay more for more capacity.
Does anyone know what's in the big Verizon building on South Orange Ave across from the Episcopal church? I'm assuming network and switching equipment but I wouldn't be surprised to find a bank of batteries there for POTS service.
My bet is in 5 years or so they're going to be pushing people to a full wireless 5G home system. If I thought they'd actually go around and take down all the physical phone lines I'd be for it.
When our POTS service died (after years of unreliable service as the system deteriorated) we switched to the FiOS equivalent. We traded a post-apocalypse functionality for a landline that is functional much more often. Who are you going to call as the world ends, anyway?
My dad... who is a bit hard of hearing... or maybe 911. Haven't decided yet.
But I do use the landline for my work calls when we are Zoomed-out and just want to catch up without the glare of the camera, or projecting to the laptop microphone. So much clearer than cell phone.
My dad... who is a bit hard of hearing... or maybe 911. Haven't decided yet.
But I do use the landline for my work calls when we are Zoomed-out and just want to catch up without the glare of the camera, or projecting to the laptop microphone. So much clearer than cell phone.
Our Fios phone service is clear as a bell (no pun intended).
Thanks. That's probably my primary criteria for whatever we switch to.
Any cons?
See above re: loss of service during a power outage of more than 8 hours or so. There are ways to mitigate that problem ... if you can get power to the ONT (it has a standard plug) the system works.
The large old NJ Bell and now Verizon central offices were indeed a marvel of engineering for their time. In South Orange, there were probably 10-20 "switchmen" working. The building itself was kind of like a giant computer with people working inside of it doing the switch installs and repairs. Nowadays there are probably only one or two people in this building and they do all the work from desk computers.
I just saw a movie called The Night Holds Terror (1955) about some crooks who hold a family prisoners in their home. Good movie. Anyway, near the end there's this extended sequence of how they trace a phone call where they go into the switching rooms to actually physically trace the circuit. It was fascinating.
I actually have a specific situation that has required numerous 911 calls. The 1st time, I used my cell phone as I was outside and didn't have the landline phone with me, they couldn't get it routed to the right dispatcher and dropped the call about 5 minutes in. I called back on the non emergency number. So I feel a lot more comfortable having a home phone available. I also have an old fashioned fax machine that I use about once a year...its easier to just use that than scan and fax through the computer.
Havent had a house phone in years and only have home phone service because Verizon pretty much makes you get it with their packages. I often use the number for when a phone number is required but I dont want to be bothered. 7eleven coffee rewards come to mind
Havent had a house phone in years and only have home phone service because Verizon pretty much makes you get it with their packages. I often use the number for when a phone number is required but I dont want to be bothered. 7eleven coffee rewards come to mind
Ha! I have given out my old landline number a couple of times when I REALLY don't want someone calling me.
I dropped my Verizon landline when I dropped cable. Then I switched to google voice, which was a mistake, because I believe that if you hold onto the old number, you can have it transferred to google voice. So anyway, I now have a cell phone with two numbers that I can ignore at the same time.
I like that when our college student calls our landline to talk about the last couple of weeks in his life, my wife and I can pick up on separate receivers. Beats shouting at a brick on speakerphone.
I was mailed a notice in January from AT&T which says:
I've done some google searches to see if I could find out if this was really happening, and whether this "regulatory approval" was provided... but can't find anything.
I really like my copper landline (regular residential landline - POTS-plain old telephone service), and hate talking on my cell phone:
What are people using as landlines now? Pros/cons?
I think the options differ in Maplewood / South Orange / West Orange -- so it might help if you indicate where you are when responding. (I'm in Maplewood).