New phone service
pros and cons please |
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| I don't have it yet but really want to try it. Comcast was offering a great deal with my -Cable TV& High speed Internet & phone 2 lines.
The only reason I have concerns are that I read on the Internet that people that switched over ended up having problems with there service for the phones and when they needed to have it checked the Phone company not the cable company had to come fix it. 
At that point the people complained that they had to wait twice as long for repair fearing that since they were no longer with the phone company they were made to wait longer for repair. 
I don't know if that is true but worries me just the same. Antoinette |
| Do you mean digital phone service provided by your cable company? It depends on the company whether digital means traditional circuit-switched phone service, in which case it is just like Verizon or any other service. It could also mean the IP-based phone service offered by cable companies.
The cable version of IP-based phone service does not actually travel over the internet. It is very much like regular phone service with the exception that the technology is "IP" between your home and the cable head end. Call quality on cable digital phone service is good and you will still have access to 911/E911 (whatever is available in your town). In fact, cable and phone company 911 service is more reliable than your cellphone because cellphone call location capability may not be implemented in your town and, even if it is, it doesn't always work indoors. Some of the downsides are that it may not work during a power outage. For traditional phone service, the phone line has a small amount of current that enables your phone to work in a power outage. The cable lines are not self-powered. The cable company should supply a battery backup but you may need to remember to have it replaced every few years. The battery itself is typically only good for up to 4 hours (depending on how long you spend actually using the phone during the power outage). None of that really matters if you use cordless handsets that require electricity themselves since they won't work either. Hope that helps. . . |
BANDAA wrote: The only reason I have concerns are that I read on the Internet that people that switched over ended up having problems with there service for the phones and when they needed to have it checked the Phone company not the cable company had to come fix it.
At that point the people complained that they had to wait twice as long for repair fearing that since they were no longer with the phone company they were made to wait longer for repair. I don't know if that is true but worries me just the same. If you have cable phone service, there is no reason the phone company should be the one to come and fix it. You should call your provider to fix it. The cable phone service does not use the same lines as the phone company. It uses your cable instead. |
| this is through our cable company. And I know if power goes off it will not work, but we have a cell phone for that. |
| I don't get why anyone has home phone service anymore. It just seems like a waste of money if you already have a cell phone and cable internet. Well, unless you talk so much you go over your minutes! |
| I have phone service through Time Warner Cable.
The phone service and internet are great.... But since getting the phone and internet service my cable is a lot more tempermental. We've had to have the cable company come to correct the problem 13 times now. We were having some problems with digitizing of the stations. We solved the problem by getting rid of Starz network....since it was really the only stations affected by the lower signal strength. They also attached an amplifier to make the signal stronger. |
ButtersStotch wrote: I don't get why anyone has home phone service anymore. It just seems like a waste of money if you already have a cell phone and cable internet. Well, unless you talk so much you go over your minutes!
Well, reliable E911 indoors is important to alot of people. With a wired phone (traditional or cable), your location is automatically transmitted if you call 911. With a cellphone, your location within several hundred feet might be transmitted (depending on your neighborhood), but even where that service is available, it does not generally work indoors. It is also nice to have phone extensions in different rooms and not always have to carry your phone around with you. Unlimited calling is another plus. As is having a number shared by a household because sometimes you want to reach the family but not necessarily one particular individual. Also, some people have their alarm systems wired through their phone lines to be able to seize the line and call for help. There are services with wireless phone capability, but it can cost alot to swap out all the components. If you have satellite tv, they used to require it be hooked up to a landline phone to order pay-per-view movies and sports. . . (I don't know if that is still necessary). Anyway, I guess I think there are plenty of good reasons to have a home phone.  |
| Yeah, I guess. Everything in our lives is wireless so I guess I forget that some people still have stuff old school. I HATE talking on the phone so I consider it a bonus that if I left it in another room, I wouldn't answer it. We have our house alarm through our cells and our DVR is set up through cable. I've used the 911 service before with good results and James and I have different providers so in case there's a problem with one network, we have the other to rely on.
When I had a home phone, the only people who called were telemarketers and my mother-- and my mom can call me at work or on my cell! |
| My dad has cable internet service and SunRocket phone service as his primary home number. E911 is part of the package with SunRocket. Service has been fairly reliable, there have been 3 or 4 outages over the last 2 years, give or take. Sound quality is acceptable, except it seems that when other people on VoIP talk with him, they hear an echo, but not people calling from land lines. Odd.
I wired the SunRocket "gizmo" modem into the house wiring, and he connected about 5 or 6 wireless phones to the system, in addition to a few wired phones. He seems pretty happy with the unlimited local and long distance service for about $200 a year. I have the same service but never use it. I think I'll be dropping it soon. I also have a copper telephone line unlimited service and two cell phones. |
ButtersStotch wrote: Yeah, I guess. Everything in our lives is wireless so I guess I forget that some people still have stuff old school.
Wireless?  We're so old school here, we're still waitin' on paved roads and traffic lights. 
Years ago, no one even wanted to start a phone company out here because of the distance between homes, and the costs. So the old timers started their own co-op. It's actually becoming pretty competitive now. Like Valerie said, the E911 service is a very important feature, especially living so far from town. Plus, the capital credit checks we get each year, and the quality of service are a pretty good incentives to keep our landlines. 
mouthypf |
ButtersStotch wrote: We have our house alarm through our cells
I am curious about this -- do you mean you have it set up to call your cellphones? How does the alarm system communicate with the central monitoring station? In most cases, the alarm is tied into the home phone line for dialing out to a central monitoring station. Lots of people who install their IP-based phone service into the inside wiring don't always know how to do it without disrupting the alarm line-seizing capability. People don't realize until there is an "alarm event" that the alarm is no longer contacting the central station. I know of some companies, like the GE system used by alarm.com, that have a wireless calling capability built into the alarm system -- like its own embedded cellphone -- but that is very different than it somehow using your own personal cellphone. So I am wondering if you have something new and different that I need to learn about. . . |
| I would gladly give up my land line but my mother is hard of hearing and it would be impossible to talk to her on a cell phone. So there's another reason why some of us still have *gasp* "old school stuff."
Digital phone is not available in my area either. |
Valerie wrote: ButtersStotch wrote: We have our house alarm through our cells I am curious about this -- do you mean you have it set up to call your cellphones? How does the alarm system communicate with the central monitoring station? In most cases, the alarm is tied into the home phone line for dialing out to a central monitoring station. Lots of people who install their IP-based phone service into the inside wiring don't always know how to do it without disrupting the alarm line-seizing capability. People don't realize until there is an "alarm event" that the alarm is no longer contacting the central station. I know of some companies, like the GE system used by alarm.com, that have a wireless calling capability built into the alarm system -- like its own embedded cellphone -- but that is very different than it somehow using your own personal cellphone. So I am wondering if you have something new and different that I need to learn about. . . I'm sorry, I worded that poorly. It's cellular based and we only need our phones to get the calls. This is not our alarm company but this is similar to how ours works for anyone interested: http://www.uplink.com/RESIDENTIAL/default.asp |
ButtersStotch wrote: Valerie wrote: ButtersStotch wrote: We have our house alarm through our cells I am curious about this -- do you mean you have it set up to call your cellphones? How does the alarm system communicate with the central monitoring station? In most cases, the alarm is tied into the home phone line for dialing out to a central monitoring station. Lots of people who install their IP-based phone service into the inside wiring don't always know how to do it without disrupting the alarm line-seizing capability. People don't realize until there is an "alarm event" that the alarm is no longer contacting the central station. I know of some companies, like the GE system used by alarm.com, that have a wireless calling capability built into the alarm system -- like its own embedded cellphone -- but that is very different than it somehow using your own personal cellphone. So I am wondering if you have something new and different that I need to learn about. . . I'm sorry, I worded that poorly. It's cellular based and we only need our phones to get the calls. This is not our alarm company but this is similar to how ours works for anyone interested: http://www.uplink.com/RESIDENTIAL/default.asp OH ok - that makes sense. That's how mine works too. |
| After 9/11 I will never give up my telephone company land line. It was impossible to use your cell phone, the government actually shut the cell phone systems down in the NY area during 9/11. My telephone company line worked the whole time. Albeit there were periods where you would get busy signals, but eventually you would get through. My brother was 3 blocks from the WTC when the planes hit. No one could get in touch with him, because the cell phones were not working. He had to walk out of lower Manhattan and he finally got in touch with my Dad around 3pm, after waiting on a line to use a good old fashioned pay phone. Land line telephones forever.
Kathie PS - Interestingly enough the only wireless service that was working were Blackberries. I know a number of people who were able to get messages to their loved ones with their using their Blackberry e-mail. |
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