Charter Spectrum → Re: [Telephone] Use Charter phone & KEEP one tradtional phone li

While Ooma works great and is very cheap, it still doesn't fit your requirement for reliable phone service if Charter internet is down. You really need something like the Straight Talk thing mentioned earlier. I've had one for a couple of years now (Verizon version) and it's been 100% reliable. I got my parents one as well, since they have cable outages now and then.

I would run one Ooma line and one POTS line to address the reliability question. The StraightTalk, if I understand, is cell-phone connection out of a receiver they supply -- much like Sprint Connect and both are $20/month (and in Sprint's case at least requires two year contract.

I can get a POTS line for $20 per month. Unlike the Sprint Connect (and, again, if I understand right) StraighTalk, it not only does not depend on the ISP/internet being up but unlike them ALSO works when all power to the home is down.

Alex

Correct, OOMA or Vonage are useless when the internet is down.
I have Charter phone that uses an EMTA, and I'm sure its the same.

The recent "Home Phone Connect" systems provided by Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and now StraightTalk (verizon), work off a cell phone tower, so unless there is a tower issue, you should have phone service.

I tried OOMA over Vonage. OOMA was ok, but works in quirky configurations for QOS. Some configurations say to put the OOMA in the middle of the pc and router, and others say put the OOMA behind the router. Behind the router was where I had it, i had no QOS issues except for the "robotic voice echo" which they fixed in a firmware update.

With both the OOMA, and the StraightTalk Home Phone, you have to eat the upfront cost of the device.

Vonage gives you the device for a 1 year agreement, and they recently had a 9.99 Basic plan (but again, no internet, no phone)

I've had Charter phone for about 5 months now, and its always been reliable and available.
(Internet had only gone down 2 times in 2.4 years).

Thank for the nuanced take on these alternatives AND your report on your experience with Charter phone. Both useful.

Apologies if I'm repeating myself, but one thought about the Home Phone Connect option.
Yeah, it should be very reliable, expecialy as an alternative/backup phone connection. But if power is down the box transceiver box that the cell-phone provider provides is powered on the AC 120volt line and if the power is down (unless it your you have a battery backup on their box it, too, would be down even though all the cellphone towers would probably be up.

Alex

Thanks, compuguybna, for your overview of the options from the perspective of someone who's tried several.
Most useful!

Just a comment FWIW:
"Home Phone Connect" from a cellphone provider would come with a transceiver that plus into the AC-socket IIRR.
If the AC 120volt power is down even though all the cell phone towers are up and running, you're phone service is down (unless you or the transceiver provider set up a battery backup).
Not so with traditional POTS line.

Shoot..... I see my last two messages are essentially duplicates.
Sorry guys. It had looked to me like the earlier one's were not posted, so I duplicated my attempt.