FureverFurryRIP Daphne: 3/12/05 - 6/19/12 Premium Member join:2012-02-20 49xxx Zoom 5341J ARRIS WBM760 Vonage VDV-21
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What about the older folks ?How will this affect older folks, besides negatively ? The ones who have the PERS alarms ("help, I've fallen) that use traditional landlines? And what about the oldsters who either aren't tech savvy with a cell phone or just flat out can't afford a cell phone ?
Poorly thought out, but - as I'm not in charge of the universe, they didn't ask me. |
Netgear R6300 v2 ARRIS SB6180
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to FureverFurry
exactly, dads 71, i had to go out and buy a samsung rugby 2 for him, and even then its still to complicated, he just wants to push one button and call, it took me months to teach him what speed dial numbers where me and mom. and even then he complains any time a stranger calls because it doesnt have name caller i.d. and god forbid he try to dial a full number, i still cant get it through his head he needs to dial an area code (something he didnt need to do with a landline)
yeah, to those saying they should just upgrade their equipment, how about the cell companies upgrade theirs to provide caller i.d. something thats been around since the early 90's,
as for voip? it CAN work with analog modem based systems, IF they use loss less compression, so how about having THEM upgrade their systems to loss less.
as for affording it, exactly, those life line phones require your income to be nill, i.e. ssi for the disabled $721/mo (something we as a society should be ashamed of, it should at least equal min wage, costs for disabled folks are higher, especially since they have to buy there own equipment, i.e. "video eye" , "white canes" etc, out of pocket) and cell phone service is more than landline in most cases, and no, granny isnt going to prepay for a landline so prepaid isnt compareable.
i knew an 80 year old woman who was still paying for rotary service and RENTING a phone from bellsouth/att about 5 years ago!
and heres a thought, to you folks about "upgrade their equipment" how about TTY's? you gonna pay to replace the ones that cant work on voip? cuz they aint cheap (see ssi reference above) yeah sorry, but unless and until such voip/wireless service has a 99.999% up time guarantee/mandate, and works with loss less compression, no dice.
and as for those batteries, they do you NO good if the service you use, does not have battery backups on the plant, i.e. mediacom, when i had "phone" from them, sure the EMTA had a battery (and yes, it did in fact only last 2 hours, want 4? add a second battery) that did you no good when the power went out, because they didnt have backups for their line amps or plant in general. thats why they advertise it as an "entertainment service" and "recommend" you have a cell phone backup. and before some one chimes in with "cordless phones dont work when the powers out" guess what? mine did, built in battery backup, and hard line phones DO (desk phone, slim line phone, etc) |