We were *this* close to signing up for a digital phone system with a local business when we discovered there are much cheaper options for doing so. The hook was that we already use high speed internet (a job necessity for Jeremy, a major perk for me) and have a cable hookup, therefore the digital phone system, at $59.95 with tax, seemed decent since it includes free long distance and little things like caller ID and call waiting.
Then a coworker told Jeremy about digital phone service via businesses like Vonage, where the fees are in the $25 range. Not too shabby…
But then, I couldn’t get into my husband’s office yesterday and I got kind of annoyed with that. I end up standing outside the office (in rain, sleet or snow, with baby on hip) until someone buzzes me in. This problem, and many others, could be easily solved with a cell phone. But if we go cellular, we can’t afford a land line any longer.
So, people. Help me out here. Tell me what you use, what you like and dislike, and pretty please with sugar on top, tell me approximately how many George Washingtons you spill for the service.
Mucho gusto.
8 Comments
bobw Jan 26, 2006 1:04 PM
by “digital” I assume you mean VOIP? I looked into that but it made me a little nervous, as I’d need both power and internet to be up to use the phone. right now I need neither (we keep an old school phone at hand in case the power goes out). plus, last I checked, 911 on VOIP left a LOT to be desired (at best).
we have a regular phone but no long distance plan. no caller id or anything. we buy sam’s calling cards, and all our cellphoned relatives are happy to call us back with their free minutes. we no longer have a cell phone, and yes, we survive (but our debts will not!!!). the lack of potential convenience builds character (and causes us to plan ahead better).
since you have broadband, another option for long distance is skype. it’s kinda free VOIP, but using your compy and not a separate unit. we use it at work to call the guy who works in CO, and it’s darn cool. compy-to-compy calls are free, and “skype out” (compy-to-phone) is like 2 cents a minute (local or not). you can get a “skype in” number too, but that doesnt seem practical for your situation. the main disadavantage is that you need to be at your computer with the headset or microphone to make or receive a call (although you can buy a separate phone handset thingy).
anyway, be pay bellsouth around $25 a month for our land line, and buy a $30 calling card every few months. and we get to feel smug at the masses who are dependent on their cells. :-)
RT Jan 26, 2006 1:36 PM
Yeah, Jeremy’s been looking into VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). And a definite disadvantage is that when your power goes out, you lose your phone line. Of course, our power rarely goes out and if I need a phone I’ll run to a neighbor’s house, but still… Gotta weigh the options.
$25 for your monthly landline? Ours is definitely more than that, though now I am wondering how much we actually pay in long distance fees… Both my brothers and several dear friends live out of my calling area and I’d love a simple way to communicate via phone with them.
We’re not pro cell phone by any means. Though they are convenient (and would help me out in many situations), they’re almost too convenient and I’m afraid I’d have a hard time avoiding calls like I do now with our answering machine.
kristen Jan 26, 2006 3:40 PM
We have a land line that’s $20/month with NO frills and without the ability to make long distance calls, just to receive calls without paying for minutes during the day. If we switched to another provider (which we will when we move) it would be $10/month.
We have two cells on a family share plan with free mobile to mobile minutes within our provider, free long distance, etc. We pay an extra $5/month to have our nights start at 7 instead of 9. We only have 350 minutes/month between the two of us and NEVER go over.
Anne Jan 26, 2006 4:55 PM
I don’t talk on the phone a lot, but I like having the freedom to be anywhere in America and make a phone call. I have a nation-wide plan with Cellular One, and I get 300 minutes/month, voicemail, and caller ID for about $40/month. It’s worked out really well for me. I have *almost* no complaints. (The complaints come when the service is patchy or static-y.)
On the whole, I love it.
Sarah Jan 26, 2006 5:44 PM
i’m learning so much from this discussion :) my parents are on some verizon plan…i’m not sure what the specs are on it, but i DO know that it was going to cost another $50 a month to add a line for me. geez.
Keith Jan 27, 2006 10:25 AM
The cheapest cell phone is an $80/YEAR thing (300 minutes) called Tracfone. http://www.tracfone.com. It’s prepaid, so the minutes are expensive, but if you really just want a wireless phone for the occasional use, it should be okay. We recenltly dumped our Sprint contract and bought a Tracfone off the rack at Office Max. We had two Sprint phones and the bill was $70/month. And we’d have months when we used like 2 minutes. That’s $35/minute. So for us, $80/year/300 minutes will probably be just fine.
Your mileage may vary.
Becky Feb 17, 2006 10:19 PM
Just ran into this site.Very nicely done and hope u don’t mind me putting 2 cents in.Tracfone I can’t stand.I ha many problems with them.I use Virgin mobile.I bought a nifty flip phone from Walmart for $80. but they come as low as $40. I buy top up cards as needed for as low as $20. It charge is .25 first 10 minutes and .10 after.You can top up with your minutes extremely easy from your phone where it took me forever to figure with Tracfone.I have never gotten cut off,never lost minutes or charges mystery roaming like Tracfone.Plus I can download a great song for a ringer.Good Luck True Blue to Virgin Mobile
Marsh Feb 18, 2006 7:43 PM
This is a hot topic around here (Raleigh, NC) with a great many students needing to cut costs. They seem to use cheap prepaid cellphones mainly as pagers, returning calls on land lines, and saving wireless minutes by doing so. Mon-Fri daytime use is sparing with much more at night and weekends when rates are lower on Cingular and others. Text messaging is cheaper than talking, too. Those with Cingular phones (which use SIM cards) can get an unlocking code from Cingular to use foreign SIM cards when they go out of the country. Around here Cingular and Virgin have the edge with $25 and $20 90-day cards, respectively. Some claim Virgin’s Minute2Minute with automatic top-up can cost as little as $5/month. Anyway, a good analyzer for determining the cheapest plan for your expected use can be found at: http://cellphones.about.com/library/bl_pt_q1.htm