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ups timeBuy a ups problem solved. | |
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Re: ups timeBetter solution: Get a POTS line | |
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Re: ups timethat will work too | |
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| | |  n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY |
n2jtx
Member
2013-Feb-14 5:09 pm
Re: ups timeNot in Verizon territory where FiOS is available. My POTS line died during Sandy and Verizon declined to fix it and instead moved me to fiber. Of course that battery lasted about 8 hours when the second storm hit a week later and we lost power again. | |
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| | | | XJakeX
join:2005-03-05
Coventry, RI |
XJakeX
Member
2013-Feb-15 12:43 pm
Re: ups timesaid by n2jtx:Not in Verizon territory where FiOS is available. My POTS line died during Sandy and Verizon declined to fix it and instead moved me to fiber. Of course that battery lasted about 8 hours when the second storm hit a week later and we lost power again. I'm curious about this move to fiber. How did they accomplish that? I would think that fixing the copper line would be easier and quicker to do during an emergency situation than making the switch. Was fiber already on your street? Did they switch you back to POTS eventually? | |
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| | | | | n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY |
n2jtx
Member
2013-Feb-15 1:07 pm
Re: ups timesaid by XJakeX:said by n2jtx:Not in Verizon territory where FiOS is available. My POTS line died during Sandy and Verizon declined to fix it and instead moved me to fiber. Of course that battery lasted about 8 hours when the second storm hit a week later and we lost power again. I'm curious about this move to fiber. How did they accomplish that? I would think that fixing the copper line would be easier and quicker to do during an emergency situation than making the switch. Was fiber already on your street? Did they switch you back to POTS eventually? They had been onto me to try and get me to move my copper line to fiber for quite some time but I there was nothing wrong with it so I ignored their pleas. Verizon has been on a big push to retire their copper in areas covered by FiOS (lower Manhattan is having all the copper removed that was damaged by Sandy and replaced with fiber). The copper network is much more expensive to maintain and provision than the fiber network. My area was "wired" for FiOS back in 2009 so it was already available. All they did was run a fiber line from the tap to the house, install a transceiver on the outside of the house and a power supply in the basement. They connected the wiring in the NID to the fiber transceiver and provisioned my number to the fiber. The old copper lines are still connected to the house but they are dead. They will not be switching me back to POTS. | |
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| | | | | |  IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
Re: ups timeI support a POTS sunset as long as those areas are passed by equal or better service (FiOS). Verizon is replacing a lot of their copper lines in Western Mass with copper. | |
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| | | | | | | BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
EARTH |
BiggA
Premium Member
2013-Feb-17 10:32 am
Re: ups timeAgreed. But it would have to be a fully passive system like FIOS with the same uptime requirements at the CO end, diesel on site, etc, so that if you had your own power source, it would work during a power outage. Not like cable, where there are active nodes so when the power goes out, cable is totally hopeless. | |
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| |  Jerm
join:2000-04-10
Richland, WA
kudos:2 |
to Crookshanks
BACKLUCK USER - BUYS POTS FOR RELIABILITY - CORDLESS PHONE USELESS DURING POWER OUTAGE ANYWAY | |
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| | |  aaronwt
Premium Member
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA ·Verizon FiOS
Asus RT-N56U
Asus RT-N65
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aaronwt
Premium Member
2013-Feb-14 5:23 pm
Re: ups timesaid by Jerm:BACKLUCK USER - BUYS POTS FOR RELIABILITY - CORDLESS PHONE USELESS DURING POWER OUTAGE ANYWAY I have no problem with my cordless phones during a power outage. They are on a UPS that will supply power for over 20 hours. Just like my ONT is on a UPS that will supply power for over 16 hours before the ONT BBU kicks in. | |
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| | | | IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
Re: ups timesaid by aaronwt:said by Jerm:BACKLUCK USER - BUYS POTS FOR RELIABILITY - CORDLESS PHONE USELESS DURING POWER OUTAGE ANYWAY I have no problem with my cordless phones during a power outage. They are on a UPS that will supply power for over 20 hours. Just like my ONT is on a UPS that will supply power for over 16 hours before the ONT BBU kicks in. My Panasonic cordless phone will function if there is a charged handset on the base when the power goes out. It came with three handsets. I think the cordless phone died before the EMTA died during the October 2011 snowstorm. | |
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to Jerm
Unless your cordless has a backup. I had an old cordless under Ameritech it had a back-up supply option in the base. Was the best phone ever. The great selling point was that it even talked. | |
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| | | |  David
VIP
join:2002-05-30
Granite City, IL
kudos:102 |
David
VIP
2013-Feb-15 11:00 am
Re: ups timebest cordless phone that I had I felt was a sony spp-2010.
Had it for years, came with two batteries (sealed lead). If the power went out, the base unit would use the battery it was charging for power and the cordless used it's battery.
Only was a 47mhz cordless phone though. But as we progress in wi-fi signaling that cordless phone might not be much of a wi-fi threat these days as most wi-fi cards would be out of range.
I thought about buying another one of those if I ever found one again. | |
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| | IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
to Crookshanks
Except it is cheaper to bundle cable, phone, and Internet in a triple play. If I break the bundle, I end up paying twice as much. Around here, a landline through Verizon costs $65 per month once you factor in the taxes and fees. A triple play costs about $200 and includes the 50/10 Internet, home phone, and all the premiums along with AnyRoom DVR on three TVs. | |
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Re: ups timeDepends on who you're getting each from. I can get a basic phone line for around $10 before taxes. Bundling by the MSOs is mostly a ploy to get you to have all your services with them. Also your $200 per month bundle is high for most people, especially with 50/10 Internet. I can have bundles had for around $90 and at times lower. | |
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| | | | IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
Re: ups timesaid by TBBroadband:Depends on who you're getting each from. I can get a basic phone line for around $10 before taxes. Bundling by the MSOs is mostly a ploy to get you to have all your services with them. Also your $200 per month bundle is high for most people, especially with 50/10 Internet. I can have bundles had for around $90 and at times lower.
The $200 per month is for all three services (HSI, Phone, and TV) with Comcast and includes two HD boxes and the host DVR. I own the HSI and phone modems. I absolutely must have caller ID so if you buy a basic phone line, then the fee for caller ID will wipe out any savings. I will not answer the phone if it comes from a number or area code I don't recognize. Anything outside of Iowa/Maine/Massachusetts/Connecticut I generally don't answer and let them go to voicemail. I get all the premium channels and the Sports Entertainment Package so the Xfinity Triple Play premier works for me and that includes the AnyRoom DVR. | |
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to IowaCowboy
said by IowaCowboy:Except it is cheaper to bundle cable, phone, and Internet in a triple play.
And you pay for that cost savings by having a product that relies on batteries during power outages, or which may not even work at all. Everything is relative. | |
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to Crookshanks
people probably would if CROOKS like AT&T didn't want to charge $13 worth of taxes on a 9.95 regular telephone line....... | |
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to jchambers28
Amen, I did that a year ago purchased a 550va ups it powers there Digital voice ata and my cordless phone for 24 hrs ( give or take ) if the power goes out. | |
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| BiggA
Premium Member
join:2005-11-23
EARTH |
to jchambers28
Plus a Generac generator to recharge the UPS and run other stuff in the house. Also, CDV is a total waste. It's just way overpriced VOIP. | |
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| | IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
Re: ups timesaid by BiggA:Plus a Generac generator to recharge the UPS and run other stuff in the house. Also, CDV is a total waste. It's just way overpriced VOIP.
CDV does have better quality of service than traditional VoIP. First, CDV is facilities based VoIP so there are fewer points of failure. Second, Comcast has the infrastructure in place to ensure quality of service (the connection begins at the EMTA and ends at the CMTS, where it enters the PSTN). Vonage and its cousins require the signal to travel over the public Internet (with many points of failure) to Vonage servers before it enters the PSTN. My alarm company says CDV is fine for alarms but they have had known failures with non facilities based VoIP providers. | |
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|  syslock
Premium Member
join:2007-02-03
La La Land |
to jchambers28
This will not do you any good.
If they don't have power on the pole and they have to
drive a truck out to power it, your still without phone.
I can remember many power outages and still be able
to connect with my laptop, modem, and pots line.
Oh and when Comcast does their line work between midnight
and 6am... No phone then either. No thanks. | |
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|  backfeedis giving feedback
join:2002-12-16
Peru, IN |
to jchambers28
I did, in fact My network will run for an hour after a power outage, It does little good since the batteries in the node for my area last only about 7 minutes....  | |
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| | betam4x
join:2002-10-12
Nashville, TN |
Re: ups timeOur Verizon (now 4G, wow, Verizon really IS upgrading it's entire footprint...  ) cell phone towers are on natural gas generators | |
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Anon9940
Anon
2013-Feb-17 6:22 am
Re: ups timeI work for a cable company. Verizon cell towers in out area use our fiber for the back haul. So even on cell phone you're using the cable company...  | |
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 egeek84
Premium Member
join:2011-07-28
Livermore, CA |
egeek84
Premium Member
2013-Feb-14 2:32 pm
QuestionWill existing customers with voice modems/gateways have to fork out the money or does this just apply to new customers? | |
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| IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
Re: QuestionAnd what will happen if an EMTA needs to be swapped, will the customer need to buy a new battery. Comcast does use different models of EMTAs from different vendors like Arris (main supplier), Ubee, Thompson, and Cisco. Each model and brand uses a different battery. So if a customer had an Arris EMTA go bad so the tech goes to swap it and all the tech has on his truck is an Ubee, will the customer have to pay for a new battery. | |
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| |  plencnerb
Premium Member
join:2000-09-25
Carpentersville, IL
kudos:3 |
plencnerb
Premium Member
2013-Feb-14 10:28 pm
Re: QuestionI have the same question, as I'm actually on my third EMTA from Comcast.
The first actually had a bad battery (would not keep a charge). The 2nd one was a D2 modem, so I swapped it out for my current one, which is a D3 (Arris, Model: TM402P/110).
If I had to pay each time I swapped out their equipment $35 for a battery, that would really piss me off. I'm already paying $7 a month to rent the modem from them. I do that so if anything goes wrong with it, I just swap it out for a new one, and they fix it.
The other question I have has to do with the $5.95 shipping and handling charge. In my specific case, I went down to my local office to swap out my modems. If now after Feb 26th, I have to go down again to swap out my modem, are they going to charge me $5.95 for "Shipping and handling" if I actually go to the local office to pick up the battery?
--Brian | |
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| | | IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
Re: QuestionThe Arris 402 is D2. The 722 and 822 are D3.
I own a 722 but I use the Motorola SBG 6120 for Internet since the phone comes in through the basement. | |
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to plencnerb
said by plencnerb:I have the same question, as I'm actually on my third EMTA from Comcast.
The first actually had a bad battery (would not keep a charge). The 2nd one was a D2 modem, so I swapped it out for my current one, which is a D3 (Arris, Model: TM402P/110).
If I had to pay each time I swapped out their equipment $35 for a battery, that would really piss me off. I'm already paying $7 a month to rent the modem from them. I do that so if anything goes wrong with it, I just swap it out for a new one, and they fix it.
The other question I have has to do with the $5.95 shipping and handling charge. In my specific case, I went down to my local office to swap out my modems. If now after Feb 26th, I have to go down again to swap out my modem, are they going to charge me $5.95 for "Shipping and handling" if I actually go to the local office to pick up the battery?
--Brian
No one knows, and at this point this is a rumor. Its not feb 26th and when that day comes and goes and no such policy exists, people who got all mad are going to feel a little foolish. As I understand it that battery is a requirement for phone service via the FCC for 911 requirements, whether they stated we can or cannot charge for it I have no idea. There may be more to this document than is being posted, or it may be dead on accurate. It may be for meth heads who take and see the batteries and then want new ones to do again and again, it may be for subs who buy their own EMTA and skip on the battery. It may be for everyone leasing or not, it may be for when you return the emta without a battery? Lets wait until the 26th and see what actually happens before we try to get questions answered for something that may just be a figment of someones imagination using dslreport's cable hatred for some sort of cocmastsucks retribution though. | |
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IowaCowboyIowa native
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
kudos:1 |
YourBroadbandStore[dot]comYourBroadbandStore[dot]com (which is hosted by Arris) sells the batteries directly to consumers.
I am thinking of buying the 16 hour battery for my Arris TM722 (that I own) since I have a burglar alarm that uses the CDV line. The alarm has a battery that depletes after 24 hours before the system shuts down.
If Time Warner would give my grandma an Arris EMTA for her digital phone, then I could get a battery for her modem from Arris since TWC does not issue them. 16 hours is the longest battery that Arris sells for the TM722G. | |
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powerless nodesLike it does much good. At my house when I lose power so does the node the modem connects to.... | |
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kaila
join:2000-10-11
Lincolnshire, IL |
kaila
Member
2013-Feb-14 2:49 pm
Out of curiosity.......Is there anything left that Comcast leaves in a customers home (outside of the connectors and cable drop) that they don't charge for? Otherwise, it seems they've closed the loop on monetizing premises equipment.
And without knowing the specs, it might be better to go with a third-party UPS. | |
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 AlphaOneI see
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
kudos:1 |
AlphaOne
Premium Member
2013-Feb-14 2:54 pm
RentAren't the customers already paying rental fees for Comcast to maintan these eMTAs? | |
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 ·Optimum Online
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Good thingI think it's a good thing for the customer that they are going to start monitoring battery health and informing users when they need to replace their batteries. From reading it, it seems like the first battery may come with the unit and your responsible for replacements, which seems fair.
It's been awhile since I had cable, but my FiOS connection stays up when the power's out, even the network connection itself stays up as my router is on a UPS. It would be nice if FiOS monitored the battery health of the battery, no way to know it's condition currently and I live in an apartment that already had an existing FiOS installation, so theirs no telling how old that battery is. | |
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Batteries are goodBut cordless phones still need power so hope you have a corded phone lying around. | |
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| aaronwt
Premium Member
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA ·Verizon FiOS
Asus RT-N56U
Asus RT-N65
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aaronwt
Premium Member
2013-Feb-14 5:21 pm
Re: Batteries are goodsaid by TWCcdman:But cordless phones still need power so hope you have a corded phone lying around.
Put the cordless phone on a UPS. That's what I've been doing since the mid 90's. | |
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rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO ·Charter
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Tired Old ArgumentWhy bother trying to backup an IP phone? These days, who doesn't have a cell phone?
There are only a couple reasons I still have a "land line" (it's not POTS though):
1) It's part of a triple-play package with HSI and TV and cheap
2) I have three kids and one is still too young to stay by himself. If someone comes over to watch him, I prefer not to leave my cell phone or require the sitter to have a cell phone.
I ditched my POTS line over 10 years ago and despite several ice storms where the power went out (one time for three days), I've always been able to make a call on my cell phone -OR- use a long extension cord from the car's inverter to temporarily power the cable gear. | |
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tkdslr
join:2004-04-24
Pompano Beach, FL
kudos:1  ·T-Mobile US
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tkdslr
Member
2013-Feb-14 4:06 pm
Batteries apparently die quickly. A friend of mine has only had CC voice/inet service for a little over 18 months and is already getting battery low messages.
Granted, he probably didn't receive a new battery with his unit. but that's no excuse to rip him off.
A typical UPS lead acid battery should go 4 to 5 years, before having capacity degrade to 30% or so. Thus something is not kosher here, more than likely the elevated temps are killing the bats early.
Just another Comcastic ripoff scam..
Deploy defective units, then make it a profit center repairing them. | |
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 ·ooma
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FiOS
1 edit |
bigger issueno competition leave Comcast not offering extras.. FIOS equipment has a LSA battery included the first year.. and is good for about 3-5 years replacement is (usually) your responsibility.
cablevision doesn't offer *FREE* batteries either.. so nothing new here.. surprised they didn't stop earlier.. charge this instead of rental fees would be better IMO...
That said, the small amount of mfg of these batteries means they can rip off anyone who buys them... this is ripe for a someone to create a hack to use cheaper batteries... real scumbag battery companies do this... like the ones used in cordless phones! Nevertheless, a UPS is more useful and cheaper, but won't last 8 hours-- maybe 2 or 3 if you don't buy the cheap ones. | |
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|  AVDRespice, Adspice, Prospice
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ
kudos:1 |
AVD
Premium Member
2013-Feb-14 4:12 pm
Re: bigger issuesaid by tmc8080:no competition leave Comcast not offering extras..
this | |
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to tmc8080
2-3 hrs on large devices,
Ive had ups rated at 500-600va last 24 hrs when only connected to small wattage items (Phone ata and one cordless phone). | |
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 boogi man
join:2001-11-13
Jacksonville, FL
kudos:1 |
What battery?I know there is a place for one but mine did not come with a battery and when I asked about it I was told basically that if we loose juice so do they hence no need to include... | |
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bgoodbodyBill G
join:2002-05-08
North Truro, MA |
Already giving away 1/2 batteryJust swapped a 722 for an 822 and it came with 1/2 battery not a full battery | |
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cast sucks
Anon
2013-Feb-14 4:54 pm
comshit has gone to faroh what's next pay to swap out a bad cable box? | |
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You can also buy a backup generator....I know some people may not be able to get because they may live in a condo or may not be able to afford one. It's just another alternative being presented. | |
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NBC Universal Buy = Rate Increase.Well I guess that they have to pay for that NBC Universal buy somehow. On the backs of the consumers. | |
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Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL
kudos:2 ·Xfinity
 ·CenturyLink
·Millenicom
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Some POTS lines have limited backup power.One thing I learned while I worked for a Baby Bell was that anyone served by subscriber line carrier (SLC) is normally limited to as much as Twelve hours backup when batteries are new and as little as Eight hours backup as the batteries age. In some instances the Teleco. will install a portable generator to power the SLC. Unfortunately many of those portable generators are stolen. In 2004 a hurricane hit Palm Beach County. Our area lost power for Four and One Half days. I had two telephone lines. One was connected to a SLC System the other directly to the Central Office. The line connected through the SLC System stopped working after about Ten Hours after power was lost and came back up when power was restored. The other line connected directly to the central office continued to function throughout the entire power outage. | |
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|  RR ConductorNWP RR Inc.,serving NW CA
Premium Member
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
kudos:1
Netgear R7000
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Re: Obi100 and Google VoiceThen you're back to the reliability problem. Say what you will, but nothing yet can match the reliability of a POTS line. | |
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| | ·T-Mobile US
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Re: Obi100 and Google VoiceAgreed nothing works better an a POTS line but even large telcos are trying to phase them out for cellular. Also I have GV and a obi 100 and it works beautifully at my IL residence and has so for over a year. The ATT modem, the OBi and 1 corded phone are all on one UPS rated at 750va. so even if power goes out I still have home phone service. My FL residence has CDV for elderly grandparents (safety reasons). However minus 911 my GV line does everything my CDV does and it doesn't cost me a thing per month. | |
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Comcast is Milking the consumer dry.When my power goes, so does my cordless phone. A cell phone is my backup. | |
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|  FreedomBuildWell done is better than well said
Premium Member
join:2004-10-08
Rockford, IL |
Re: Comcast is Milking the consumer dry.said by RawHeadRex:When my power goes, so does my cordless phone. A cell phone is my backup.
That's part of doing business, over milking comes as a result of monopolistic powers, heavy lobbying and buying the Government. This is sometimes refereed as gotcha capitalism. | |
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February26
Anon
2013-Feb-14 8:15 pm
BSYou do realize this "article" is complete rubbish. There's no charge for the battery and the battery health has been monitored for years. When someone calls in I can see the battery status in GrandSlam and if it's depleted I get them to the Battery Replacement Group who sends them a new one free of charge. | |
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| The Q
join:2008-06-26
Collegeville, PA |
The Q
Member
2013-Feb-15 1:59 pm
Re: BSsaid by February26 :You do realize this "article" is complete rubbish. There's no charge for the battery and the battery health has been monitored for years. When someone calls in I can see the battery status in GrandSlam and if it's depleted I get them to the Battery Replacement Group who sends them a new one free of charge.
Agreed. I read this as if a customer wants a "backup battery" to the main battery, the main battery being included in the current equipment rental fee...but I have not seen the "confidential" documentation. My former EMTA had two slots for batteries but only one battery was included so I bought another to extend my time if I ever lost power. Good insurance. My current emta only has one slot for a battery. Maybe I will sell my previous battery online.. | |
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to February26
nope its legit we were just told about it at our meeting this AM.
Policy change. Casper still shows the old one though. Go figure. | |
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