elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA
 ·SONIC.NET
 ·RoadRunner Cable
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to aaronwt
Re: Why would I pay $45?
said by aaronwt  :I dropped my land line a few months ago to use my cell phone as my primary service. ... For 911 service I will be using my cell phone, although I've never had to use 911. I've had to call the police and fire dept. before, but not in a life threatening situation, so 911 wouldn't apply to those situations. You use the regular number instead of tying up 911 service like most of the calls they receive for 911 that aren't really emergencies. Except that your cell phone 911 will not work, and "the regular number" WILL NOT WORK when you have that life-threatening situation.
I have the unfortunate opportunity to test these facilities more often than I'd like. Cell-phone 911 is not viable (yet). Dialing the PSAP directly is hit-n-miss, in other words, you can literally "die trying".
Are you willing risk your life for $17 a month?
(That's what we pay for Verizon POTS). |
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aaronwt
Premium
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
 ·Verizon FIOS
2 edits | said by elray :said by aaronwt :I dropped my land line a few months ago to use my cell phone as my primary service. ... For 911 service I will be using my cell phone, although I've never had to use 911. I've had to call the police and fire dept. before, but not in a life threatening situation, so 911 wouldn't apply to those situations. You use the regular number instead of tying up 911 service like most of the calls they receive for 911 that aren't really emergencies. Except that your cell phone 911 will not work, and "the regular number" WILL NOT WORK when you have that life-threatening situation. I have the unfortunate opportunity to test these facilities more often than I'd like. Cell-phone 911 is not viable (yet). Dialing the PSAP directly is hit-n-miss, in other words, you can literally "die trying". Are you willing risk your life for $17 a month? (That's what we pay for Verizon POTS). Then you need to tell that to the emergency providers around here who have responded to 911 calls over cell phones sucessfully.
I don't know about Magic Jack for 911. Although It does have the proper info with my address for 911.
I'll have to ask some friends if they've responded to any emergencies from people who dialed 911 using Magic JAck. I know they have from Cell phone users without any issues. |
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wwdubbia
join:2002-06-03
Clinton, NY | reply to elray
show me your Verizon bill for $17 and I'll believe you. You're flat rate plan is probably $17, but then you need to add your line cost on top of that, plus taxes/fees.
It's probably more like $50 after taxes. |
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hescominsoon
join:2003-02-18
Brunswick, MD
·Comcast
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to elray
said by elray :said by aaronwt :I dropped my land line a few months ago to use my cell phone as my primary service. ... For 911 service I will be using my cell phone, although I've never had to use 911. I've had to call the police and fire dept. before, but not in a life threatening situation, so 911 wouldn't apply to those situations. You use the regular number instead of tying up 911 service like most of the calls they receive for 911 that aren't really emergencies. Except that your cell phone 911 will not work, and "the regular number" WILL NOT WORK when you have that life-threatening situation. I have the unfortunate opportunity to test these facilities more often than I'd like. Cell-phone 911 is not viable (yet). Dialing the PSAP directly is hit-n-miss, in other words, you can literally "die trying". Are you willing risk your life for $17 a month? (That's what we pay for Verizon POTS). typical fear mongering. I have nothing but cell phones and 911 has always worked just fine. I have had a couple of major accidents befall my family in the wintertime and the cell phone has always worked. I can tell you right now if there is a big enough calamity to take out all of the cell towers in my area the landlines are going to be gone as well(think katrina..landlines did you no good there..it was the HAM operators that saved the comm day there). I'm in training to join the ranks of Ham radio operators. That's a service that works irregardless of the infrastructure destruction. |
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mod_wastrel
join:2008-03-28
 ·magicjack.com
| reply to wwdubbia
A no-frills POTS line from Verizon costs at least a few dollars less than $17 (total)--varies some with locality. If I remember correctly (always questionable), POTS is 911 and everything else is E911 (VoIP and cell), though a recently enacted law (?) will require the telcos to open up 911 centers directly to non-telcos. My point being that if someone feels safe only with 911, then it could be worth it for the "peace of mind" to pay the little extra for true 911 you used to only get with POTS (and I don't know the schedule required by that law as far as providing access to the 911 centers--could be awhile knowing the telcos). But all of this has little to do with using a phone to make calls for the sake of conversation. |
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fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| reply to hescominsoon
Fear mongering huh?
Cell phones - unreliable as they are radio waves and are subject to far more issues than a closed wired service. However, your luck with 911 has been great!
I can show you land line service that is 100% underground from the home to the CO to the rest of the network before it even thinks of going over head.. maybe an earthquake in that area would have been a bad thing at the time.
When you go into learning to be that HAM soldier, why don't you ask them, while you're at it, if that giant HAM radio antenna is stronger than any cell phone tower or land line pole that you use to broadcast with, okay?
The fact is that while you're trying to pass over something that has been PROVEN to be a lifeline service as trivial and "fear mongering" you failed to look at your own savior's weaknesses.
I'm sorry to that but it still is a gamble that your cell phone, even, though while still my best 2nd choice, is going to be your life line over a proven reliable land line service in an emergency. It's not fear mongering to say that it's a gamble to take reliability out of the picture in the chance of emergency. And further, it only takes the 1 time that you can't make that call over your "cell phone" and before you get your HAM radio up and running (ugh) before you're personally affected and crying foul IF your cell phone failed you in an emergency.
The people on the Titanic probably never once thought about the life boat situation on the ship until it was sinking and they needed them either. Look what happened after that... we've already had issues with cell phones in emergencies and looks what's changed because of it? (and its still not 'perfect'..) Look at the issues with provider based VoIP services and the mandatory E911 services.. you think that it's all fear mongering still..?
... I support your right to believe what you want, but you can keep the fear mongering call out of this one as it will only make you look a fool. Oh, and again, if you do have an issue, and you do have that one time you can't get through right away and something bad happens, PLEASE don't come here rallying the troops to bitch with you becuase I'll be happy to break and violate EVER T.O.S. term here to rub in your loss. 
There is a real problem, in SOME cases, in this country with the lack of resolve in people.. 9/11, no matter what anyone believes happened that day, 3,000 people still died and two 100 story towers fell. The country AT LARGE kept it on their minds for a few months, and not quite long enough, before getting on with life. Sorry, but this sort of mentality is just move of the same. Emergencies and accidents are never planned. Not to mention, how you respond to them is very important even though its very unlikely that many will. But, it's that ONE point of failure that can and will turn your life upside down and you'll never be the same. Many "fear mongering" claimants used to believe what you did, until the one point of failure and then many of them became activists for their cause. Just keep that in mind when you balk at the wired phone line that has been proven effective for many many years in this country and will continue to be for many more.
Have a good one.  |
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mod_wastrel
join:2008-03-28 | Fore-warned is fore-armed. Plan for failure. (However, to each his/her own.) |
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N3OGH
Bear patrol must be working like a charm
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
·Verizon FIOS
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to elray
As a person who lives alone, and as a first responder, I would never recommend anyone relying solely on a cell phone or VoIP phone for summonsing emergency responders.
I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with Vonage's 911 a few years back. It was bad.
For $17/mo it IS worth it to have a POTS line.
And I know a lot of people say folks rely on 911 too much. That's just bullshit. You tell me that when you've nicked a femoral artery while using power tools, and you're bleeding like a damn stuck pig.
I'm usually the first person on scene for the medical calls in my town when I'm working (we beat the medics routinely) and I can't tell you the number of people that have saved their own lives due to a 911 call.
Best $17/mo I spend IMHO...
--
Petty people are disproportionably corrupted by petty power… |
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elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA
·SONIC.NET
·RoadRunner Cable
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to wwdubbia
said by wwdubbia :show me your Verizon bill for $17 and I'll believe you. You're flat rate plan is probably $17, but then you need to add your line cost on top of that, plus taxes/fees. It's probably more like $50 after taxes. $17 gets us a measured rate line with a $3 usage credit, taxes included. |
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elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA
·SONIC.NET
·RoadRunner Cable
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to hescominsoon
said by hescominsoon :said by elray :Except that your cell phone 911 will not work, and "the regular number" WILL NOT WORK when you have that life-threatening situation. I have the unfortunate opportunity to test these facilities more often than I'd like. Cell-phone 911 is not viable (yet). Dialing the PSAP directly is hit-n-miss, in other words, you can literally "die trying". Are you willing risk your life for $17 a month? (That's what we pay for Verizon POTS). typical fear mongering. I have nothing but cell phones and 911 has always worked just fine. I have had a couple of major accidents befall my family in the wintertime and the cell phone has always worked. I can tell you right now if there is a big enough calamity to take out all of the cell towers in my area the landlines are going to be gone as well(think katrina..landlines did you no good there..it was the HAM operators that saved the comm day there). No, real world experience. In Los Angeles, our police dispatch does not respond to cell phones well (911 doesn't route consistently, sometimes doesn't go through at all); the PSAP doesn't answer when you dial direct, and the local precinct won't dispatch. Only 911 from a landline results in a response when you need it.
I'm not concerned about Katrina-like situations. If one isn't personally prepared for such, no 911 system is going to help you, nor are a group of ham operators.
I'm worried about preventable, recoverable, everyday life-threatening situations that actually happen - heart attack, stroke, shootings, stabbings, fires, burglaries, and assaults. It is not that other technologies can't be made 99% reliable, but they just aren't, so far. |
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