Question for those who still have land line phones

[shaggy]

I use a service called PennyTalk. It's a penny a minute for long distance in the USA and rates are very cheap for international calls. You can make it automatic from your home phone, and from a non-home phone you can also dial into the 800 number with a PIN to make a call.

You don't pay for it if you don't use it, so it might meet your needs.

[MonkeyMama]

I checked out of curiosity, and we get 300 "anytime/anywhere" minutes (domestic, anyway) with our landline provider. I didn't remember. It's the most basic plan they offer; they have others.

I've experienced now and in the past that a lot of people locally (but other cities or neighborhoods) were not offered same service providers (so were not offered such cheap phone service). So, I'd look into your options, but they could be crap or they could be really good (as far as local service providers).

[HappySaver]

Our cell phones act as back up, so we don't miss not having a landline.
We use Google Voice at home. It's a US service only, so as long as you live in the US it's very reliable and free, including domestic long distance. For international long distance, we pay 2 cents/min to call Europe, as we go (no monthly charge).

[shaggy]

Our cell phones act as back up, so we don't miss not having a landline.

In a Widespread local emergency, such as an earthquake, cell phone service is likely to be turned off so the emergency personnel can use the bandwidth.

If you do have a landline for emergency use, make sure you have an old style phone that plugs into the wall jack And doesn't require electricity. Cordless Phones that require electricity will not work if the electricity is off.

[disneysteve]

If you do have a landline for emergency use, make sure you have an old style phone that plugs into the wall jack And doesn't require electricity.

I recently learned that this is not the case in many newer homes. My cousin lives in new construction in Florida. His land line has a 2-hour battery back up and then that's out too.