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inferno_gn
Premium Member
join:2007-02-26
Verdun, QC

inferno_gn

Premium Member

[Home Phone] So should I just cancel my Home Phone?

Hi there,

Just wondering, should I switch out my Home Phone? I been with Teksavvy Home Phone for a very long time, just that, I don't feel the need to pay 30$ every month for something I barely used. I guess 5$ for the dry-loop...

Just that I keep it for emergency uses (power failure and all that).

What do you think?

Ju Leon...

RizzleQ
Cunningham's Law Enthusiast
Premium Member
join:2006-01-12
Windsor, ON
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Ubiquiti U6-LR

RizzleQ

Premium Member

Do you have a cell phone? If you're not making a lot of calls then just use your cell phone as your main phone.

Do you plan on getting VOIP (like TekTalk) so the cost is way lower than $30/mo? If you don't have a cell phone or don't want to rely on it for much then VOIP is a good alternative.

I got rid of my POTS home phone many years ago and went with the cheaper VOIP alternative. The power in my neighbourhood is incredibly reliable and so is the Internet, so it wasn't that much of a gamble. If power isn't super reliable for you, you can still use VOIP in a power outage if your modem and VOIP ATA are both connected to a UPS. That's still a cheaper alternative in the long run for emergency uses. If your Internet isn't that reliable... I'd say VOIP is not a good idea.

inferno_gn
Premium Member
join:2007-02-26
Verdun, QC

inferno_gn

Premium Member

Hi there,

Well, I consider VOIP, but since I download and play online a lot, it just lag the line. Power failure is prone in my sector (for stupid reasons) and even a small wind knock it out for hours. *lol*

I do have a cell phone. I was considering it to move it to Fido Home Phone (10$) since I have an account with them.

Ju Leon...
Frick156
join:2004-05-03
London, ON

Frick156 to inferno_gn

Member

to inferno_gn
I've been kicking around the TekTalk service to replace my current "Home Phone" setup. QoS was a concern, but given most of my traffic is between 02:00 and 08:00 hrs, don't think traffic will be a major issue. I do want to test it while the family streams its usual content. The plan is to order TekTalk, have it exist along side my "Home Phone" setup and then, if all is well, port "Home Phone" number over after testing complete.

Major impetuous for change? $$ Goes from $50+ to $16-ish/month.

moovyguy
join:2004-05-10
Ottawa & PSL

moovyguy to inferno_gn

Member

to inferno_gn
I got rid of my Bell POTS last year and went with Fido Home Phone as my wife's cell is with Fido ...

Got the ZTE cell adapter base station for free using her Fido Dollars, and yeah $10 for "home" phone service that gives me Canada wide unlimited LD?

Easy choice .... and the ZTE base, like a cell phone has a battery so if the power goes out the base will work for a few hours including powering the analog phone attached to it (A combo wired base & 3 cordless set) - Of course only the base works when there is no external power, but that's all I would need in such a situation.

So, no, not a true POTS, but close enough and cheap enough for those of us that still want a central home number.

kevinds
Premium Member
join:2003-05-01
Calgary, AB

kevinds to inferno_gn

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to inferno_gn
As long as it isn't an analog phone, any cell phone, activated or not can call 911... Depends what you refer to as an emergency, if that will work for you.
slow joe
join:2008-01-17

slow joe to inferno_gn

Member

to inferno_gn
"Just that I keep it for emergency uses (power failure and all that)."

I stalled for that reason for a year.
Finally did it and I feel good about it now.
No more 800 or 888 calls. (yes I was on the no call list but it made no difference.)
Should have done it years ago.

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC
·TELUS
Actiontec T3200M
Arcadyan WE410443-TS
Sipura SPA-2102

MacGyver to inferno_gn

to inferno_gn
I dumped our Teksavvy land line and switched to voip.ms a couple of years ago and my only regret is not doing it sooner. We save tons of money, mostly because we no longer pay for the unlimited long distance, since all calls in Canada and the US are charged at the same rate with voip.ms. We have cell phones for "emergencies" and I also have the modem, router, and ATA on a small UPS for rare power failures. We primarily use cordless phones so if the power goes out, any call in progress is probably going to be cut off anyway! You can read my review on voip.ms and the voip.ms staff are active on this site and can help you out with any configuration issues or questions you might have.

RizzleQ
Cunningham's Law Enthusiast
Premium Member
join:2006-01-12
Windsor, ON
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Ubiquiti U6-LR

RizzleQ to slow joe

Premium Member

to slow joe
said by slow joe:

No more 800 or 888 calls. (yes I was on the no call list but it made no difference.)
Should have done it years ago.

This. When I switched to TekTalk and got a new number, my home got exponentially quieter and I actually thought the phone wasn't working half the time. Turns out I just forgot how serene life was without telemarketers calling every hour.
jwillisbarri
join:2005-03-22
Barrie, ON

jwillisbarri to inferno_gn

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to inferno_gn
Make sure whatever solution you take lets you displays your FULL name and number on caller ID. Many people including us will not answer calls if only a number or unknown private etc. Is displayed.
devcore
join:2008-07-26
Pickering, ON

devcore to MacGyver

Member

to MacGyver
said by MacGyver:

I dumped our Teksavvy land line and switched to voip.ms a couple of years ago and my only regret is not doing it sooner. We save tons of money, mostly because we no longer pay for the unlimited long distance, since all calls in Canada and the US are charged at the same rate with voip.ms. We have cell phones for "emergencies" and I also have the modem, router, and ATA on a small UPS for rare power failures. We primarily use cordless phones so if the power goes out, any call in progress is probably going to be cut off anyway! You can read my review on voip.ms and the voip.ms staff are active on this site and can help you out with any configuration issues or questions you might have.

I second that. Dumped Bell, converted to dry loop and ported my number to voip.ms 4+ months ago. Couldn't be happier. I really like some of the extras, e.g voice mails delivered to e-mail, ability to route calls to a cell phone, call blocking, etc. All this for a fraction of what I was paying Bell.
BrianKB
join:2010-06-13
Mississauga, ON

BrianKB to inferno_gn

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I've been on VOIP for 2 years with freephoneline.ca the BYO division of Fongo where you pay a one time setup fee and nothing after that. Aside from the loss of power equals no phone aspect of VOIP I'll never go back to paying for a phone service. Even getting a 2nd VOIP phone this week once I pickup another ATA adaptor.

I've only had lag issues when connecting to someone on a Rogers home phone, but thats an ongoing Rogers cable problem of limited capacity. I'm downloading all the time with Utorrent and VOIP isn't affected at all by it.
vn33
Premium Member
join:2014-10-29
Stouffville, ON

vn33 to inferno_gn

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to inferno_gn
What I did a few years back, and saved tons of money, while keeping my old home landline number.

- Signed up with voip.ms for prepaid, put in $25 into account
- Bought a Linksys/Cisco VOIP box (You can also get Obihai, which is very good too)
- Port my landline over to voip.ms
- Save money!

I have the premium plan, which charges $0.01/minute for North America (Can, US & Mex). I also like the fact you can login and blacklist numbers on the account itself. I've blocked Duct Cleaning and all those annoying companies.

For me, having the "landline" is a convenience.

Maxx2006
join:2013-02-02
Guelph, ON

Maxx2006

Member

I switched the main number to voip ms beginning of December.
said by vn33:

I also like the fact you can login and blacklist numbers on the account itself. I've blocked Duct Cleaning and all those annoying companies.

Check out the IVR feature on voipms for stopping computer dialed numbers. One of the best features.

Mike

kn00tcn
zero-zero
join:2006-04-19
Canada

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said by inferno_gn:

Well, I consider VOIP, but since I download and play online a lot, it just lag the line.

um what!? first of all, that's what QoS is for, & second, voip data is so minor... you know game data is as well, both voip & games are designed to be small packets that can be dropped

it's just such a non-issue... i mean gee, people used teamspeak or other in game voice chat for years without a problem, it's the same thing

i switched to voip late last year, fantastic cost savings!
fefrie
join:2012-08-17
Vancouver, BC

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For what emergency?

All cell phones have free 911 service.

And under what circumstance do you think that having an eLandline will help vs a eCellphone?

The only one I can think of is if you have a heart attack all alone in your house and manage to get to the phone in the first place.

If you're really worried about home emergencies, then just get those fallen can't get up emergency buttons.
fink
join:2002-08-21
Toronto, ON

fink to inferno_gn

Member

to inferno_gn
As of two months ago I cancelled my home phone line and ported my number over to my cell phone. I too did not use my land line all that much and only kept it because of habit.

I now wonder why I had not done it years ago. I save over 30 dollars/month overall.

Just be aware that as has already been mentioned any 911 call from the cell phone requires you or a family member to be able to verbally describe your location since the operator will not have the cell phone number registered to your home (or any) address.

AkFubar
Admittedly, A Teksavvy Fan
join:2005-02-28
Toronto CAN.

1 edit

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NVM

inferno_gn
Premium Member
join:2007-02-26
Verdun, QC

inferno_gn

Premium Member

Hi there,

That's the thing, it's just save money, but is it worth it? During the power failure, at least, I can still make calls. *lol*

Ju Leon...

MacGyver

join:2001-10-14
Vancouver, BC

MacGyver

Is Hydro Quebec that unreliable where you live? Then you have bigger problems than telephone service.

Gwai Lo Dan
join:2007-01-24
Mississauga, ON

Gwai Lo Dan to fefrie

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to fefrie
said by fefrie:

All cell phones have free 911 service.

My Telus pay as you go plan charges $0.75/month for 911, although if I terminate my account 911 is then free. So if I buy $100 for 1 year, 10% gets used up by 911 fees. Ticks me off!

The Flash
Premium Member
join:2002-10-17
Toronto, ON

The Flash to inferno_gn

Premium Member

to inferno_gn
+1 to voip.ms, should have made the switch sooner