I think there's a lot to be said for keeping a true copper landline, especially if you live in a remote area. You can get their cheapest plan - one where you pay for every call - for very little money, and then use something like magicJack or whatever for most of your actual phone calls. I think people should think about being without power, possibly in a situation where roads are impassable, and having no way to make a phone call. For those of us who don't get cell service at our homes, that's a prettty scary scenario. Even if you do get cell service at your home, will the cell tower you get your signal from be operational if there are widespread power outages? /Reva Reck/ /reva//@//revareck.com/ Robert Heller wrote: > ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area. > ** If you did, we all thank you. > > > At Tue, 5 Jan 2010 12:08:47 -0500 Frank Aronson <fsaronson at gmail.com> wrote: > > >> Keep in mind that both MagicJack and Phone Power are both VoIP and are not >> true landlines. The great advantage to Phone Power is that it doesn't >> require a "server" (a computer to run the software) as its all contained in >> the "free" adapter (a la Vonage). I assume it also works a bit better than >> MagicJack and the cost is lower than Vonage (right now you can get a >> residential line for $8.33/year with a two year commitment). >> >> The only *true* landline you're going to find is Verizon. We have Comcast, >> but if you lose power, you're pretty much down (yes, there's a battery >> backup, but it doesn't last forever). The old copper lines will still >> provide power to your wired phone even if you can't see the buttons in the >> dark! >> > > It should also be noted: Verizon wants to get out of the copper landline > business. Verizon is also *barely* maintaining the copper landline > infrastructure, which in rural areas can be pretty bad (there are people > who lose phone service when it rains because the phone cables fill up > with water). Oh, Verizon charges something like $60/month for service > that is equivalent to Vonage (eg nationwide long distance, voicemail, > etc.). Not really the best deal available (probably the *worst* deal > available). > > >> Frank >> >> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.725 / Virus Database: 270.14.126/2601 - Release Date: 01/05/10 02:35:00 > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.hidden-tech.net/pipermail/hidden-discuss/attachments/20100105/d7dcc32a/attachment.html