cell phone vs. land line

[2moretrees]

I have seen a number of people say that it is chaeper to get a cell phone than a land line for overall phone expenses. Is this true and how does it work? How are you able to get the savings? Does the way you use the phone make a difference on whether this works or not? What, if any drawbacks are there to doing this? thank you for any help with making me understand this better.

[asrai]

Re: cell phone vs. land line

It would be cheaper for us to get a cell phone (partly because DH works for a cell phone co.) but our problem is we can't have internet without a landline. Unless we had cable internet which would just put the cost back up and over what we pay now for phone/net.

[2moretrees]

Re: cell phone vs. land line

I never thought about the cable. I will have to check out and see. if I can get a faster internet connection for about the same overall price, I wouldn't be adverse to changing. I assume that the cell phone only option saves money for a specific group of callers. Maybe those who do not make a lot of calls overall? I just don't know enough about the pricing of cell phones since I have never had one to make a well informed decision on what is best for me.

[Tree0164]

Re: cell phone vs. land line

It really depends on your dependency on a the landline. Landlines usually average about $40 or so with no long distance.

Another option if you have cable internet would be to get a VOIP (voice over internet) line which can start at 19.95 for unlimited residential service. You get special adapter for your phone.

[Sabbatha]

Re: cell phone vs. land line

I was about to get a cell phone when my verozin bill for a land line phone was over $100 a month. I live in Maine and all my family and friends are in other states. Plus everywhere you call around here in Maine is a toll call, which also cost us a fortune. But then MCI came out with a deal just like cell phones. One fixed monthly price for free long distance, free toll calls, voice mail, 3-way calling, and call waiting. My phone bill is always 64 a month now. I can't find a better deal with cell phones around here. So it all depends. If you never make long distance calls then just a local land line would be much cheaper. You just gotta shop around.

[bobcat999]

We had considered discontinuing our land lines and just use cell phones for voice lines.
We also have a fax and we considered using an internet based fax service.
During the process we discovered that we needed the land phone line for our home security system.
It turned out that a stripped down land line was about the same price as the internet fax service and much more reliable.
Plus, as stated above, the land line works better for 911 and emergency calls in the event of natural disaster.
Another option though less reliable is to use a line switch.

[jIM_Ohio]

We dropped the land line this weekend. Here is what I found out:

1) we used phone co for home internet- the cheapest option they offered was $42 for land line and home internet.

I told them we only wanted home internet (no landline) and that option was not available.
2) cell phone plans can be as cheap as $25/mo for minimal minutes.

3) Our old bills were $100 for home phone and internet (inc call waiting, VM, high speed internet) and $125 for cell phone (lots of minutes, early evenings and similar).

New bills will be $25 for my cell with minimal minutes (I only call wife) on a contract which expires in June (this contract is 18 months old).

Wife is getting a new cell plan with new phone co which is $55/mo and she gets free calls to anyone in that network (including the person she calls the most already), better reception at our house and 1000 anytime minutes/month.

Works for me.

[disneysteve]

Landlines usually average about $40

my verozin bill for a land line phone was over $100 a month

I guess we're lucky. Our land line is $28/month with Verizon here in NJ. We also have Verizon DSL for internet that is $29/month, so total bill for phone and internet is $57. We're fine with that.

[momof1in150]

Ours is bundled with our cable and the total bill is $20.22 per month. Not worth getting rid of because it would cost more to get rid of it because we would lose our discounts for bundling. We use our cell phones for long distance. With two children at home I like the security of a land line.

[disneysteve]

Not that this is common occurrence, but land lines also have some advantages in emergency situations. After 9/11, millions of New Yorkers discovered that cell phones don't always work. In a power outage, once you've run down your cell phone battery, you're out of luck, but your land line will still work (as long as you have a wired phone, not a cordless).

[jIM_Ohio]

I guess we're lucky. Our land line is $28/month with Verizon here in NJ. We also have Verizon DSL for internet that is $29/month, so total bill for phone and internet is $57. We're fine with that.

tell me more about a verizon landline- how does that work?

[MonkeyMama]

Our bill is the same as Steve's - about $60 for AT&T phone and DSL.

The phone portion is only $30 (we don't pay for any features, but dh insists on call waiting).

I have friends who live in the next city south who say you can not get land line for less than $100/month (just phone!!! No AT&T coverage or something - seems weird to me - but I heard from a few different people).

I believe 911 works regardless if you have phone service. So you can keep a phone hooked up to a dead line for 911 service. At least what I hear for west coast. But for the longest time I would never give up my land line for 911 service. Cell phone 911 redirects to highway patrol I guess - all I know is I called a couple of times and was put on hold forever. There is an emergency equivalent, but hard to remember (7 digits), and doesn't help with dead batteries - indeed.

[disneysteve]

tell me more about a verizon landline- how does that work?

Our Verizon bill for local phone service is $27.87. That includes $5.49/mo. (plus tax) for call waiting which DW insists on (drives me crazy - I find it terribly rude). With that, it would be just about $20.00.

We use our cell phones for long distance calls. On occasion, where we forget to use the cell, we have long distance from Covista communications for $.03/minute with no monthly fee.

[minnie1928]

Not that this is common occurrence, but land lines also have some advantages in emergency situations. After 9/11, millions of New Yorkers discovered that cell phones don't always work. In a power outage, once you've run down your cell phone battery, you're out of luck, but your land line will still work (as long as you have a wired phone, not a cordless).

Steve,

I just read in this morning's paper that both Verizon FIOS and Optimum cable (northern NJ here) have battery backup units available for their phone service.

FWIW, I'm currently paying $100/mth for bundled cable tv, unlimited long distance phone and superfast internet. We paid over $130/month when we lived in PA 6 months ago for a slower speed internet, basic phone service (Verizon) and Dish satellite service. We went with Optimum after we moved because of our new need for long distance phone service (calling friends/family in PA). I have a prepaid cell phone that costs $10/year that I use for emergencies.

[DebbieL]

We pay around $30 for our land line (digital phone through our cable company). This includes long distance and a few calling features. I would never switch to cell phones (plus I don't like using them unless absolutely necessary - I believe there will be health issues in the future).