[57]

It beehoves me why some people like to pay twice for both a home and cellular phone especially when prices of things and inflation is so high.

Paying twice doesn't mean paying more. My Rogers Home Phone costs me $10/month. My Rogers Prepaid cell phone average cost is $5/month on my grandfathered package. It's mostly used for emergencies and anything "free" like apps, GPS and WiFi. My home phone has a feature where it'll forward any voicemail to my e-mail which is excellent when travelling. A cell phone plan to provide for my needs would cost 2-3-4 times what I'm currently paying.

I don't believe you know the meaning or the spelling of behoove.

 

[eljay]

A few years ago, my wife and I ditched our landline - and all the telemarketing and missed calls that came with it - and we haven't regretted it one bit. Our cellphones keep us better-connected to each other and to others than the landline ever did.

 

[Humbar]

I have no regrets ditching home phone, I wouldn't even pay $10 for it. Some people don't even know they can transfer their home number to their mobile phone which might be another reason they stick with a POTS landline. Predictions are in 5-10 years only 10 percent of homes will have a landline and that will be mostly the elderly folks.

 

[17671]

We can talk till the moon turns blue about the pros and cons of being a landline cord cutter or not, but the fact is, yes it is a given that they are dying in popularity, companies know this, no one is forcing you to get a landline, but if you want one for your home or own a retail store or shop of some sort, then some people may prefer a landline. They may not want to be "bothered" by customers after closing time. Though I have also seen some local stores and shops have no landline and only publish their cellphone number. Its a user preference. Btw, phone lines have been very affordable since VoIP technology made it to the masses. You can have a home phone number (or business phone number) and pay very little per month if all you need is to answer calls from clients or customers.

 

[Humbar]

Rogers dropped all land lines from its offices, all its employees only use Mobile phones.

 

[JamesK]

Rogers dropped all land lines from its offices, all its employees only use Mobile phones.

Some companies use softphones on computers as well as cell phones.

 

[17671]

I have a VoIP phone at the office with a dedicated work phone number on it and I am also able to use my work number while working from home or travelling in canada via the software client on my laptop.

 

[JamesK]

I have a VoIP phone at the office with a dedicated work phone number on it and I am also able to use my work number while working from home or travelling in canada via the software client on my laptop.

Yep. VoIP makes that sort of thing a lot easier. Want another phone? Just add it to the PBX. A bit over 15 years ago, I was working with some small VoIP PBXs. It was a trivial matter to add another phone, be it desk phone or soft phone. An old style twisted pair phone could also be added, but that required having a physical port available. It would be nice if Rogers and other companies allowed having multiple phones on one number, so that a call to a home phone would also ring on the cell phone. That sort of thing is trivial with VoIP.

 

[ExDilbert]

That's why competition is good. Traditional telcos are tied into traditional technology with a high cost structure. When they do move to new technology, they use it to prop up their existing profit structure and business model. New, innovative companies do a much better job of marketing new technologies in a way that benefits everyone involved.

 

[Humbar]

Rogers VOIP uses a Softswitch. They are maintained in the York Mills Headend, even the ones that serve New Brunswick and Newfoundland are all housed at York Mills.

 

[JamesK]

Unfortunately, traditional hardwired phone lines are becoming less common as providers like Shaw and Telus move toward internet-based systems.

Problem is companies can no longer afford to provide a phone only service. They have to bundle it with Internet & TV. I've long forgotten what I was paying Bell, before I switched to Rogers over 15 years ago, however I believe it was in the range of $25 or so. These days, as long as you have a decent Internet connection, you can get dirt cheap phone service, if you even bother with home phone. Many use cell phones exclusively.

 

[Mr.6]

The only reason I have a POTS line is for my son who is 10 years old. He now takes the bus home and is staying home alone, so if he needs to contact somebody he can use the phone.

Having said that, advantages of POTS is quality and reliability. My cellular signal where I live is not great, sucks acutally.

 

[JamesK]

@Mr.6

How is that POTS connected? I have POTS service, but it's part of my Ignite bundle on Rogers. As for your poor cell signal, have you tried WiFi calling? It works great for me. Years ago, I also had poor performance in my condo, but it seems to have improved over the past several years. I suspect this may be due to all the new bands that came in with 4G & 5G, compared to the 2 bands we had back in the 2G days, when my signal was poor.

 

[Mr.6]

@Mr.6

How is that POTS connected? I have POTS service, but it's part of my Ignite bundle on Rogers. As for your poor cell signal, have you tried WiFi calling? It works great for me. Years ago, I also had poor performance in my condo, but it seems to have improved over the past several years. I suspect this may be due to all the new bands that came in with 4G & 5G, compared to the 2 bands we had back in the 2G days, when my signal was poor.

I have no clue but i would guess it's copper. My iphone doesn't support 5G but my daughters phone does and her connection is no better than mine. I have not tried Wifi calling yet, I think I will look into it.

 

[17671]

My children will soon be at the age where they can stay home unsupervised when they come home from school. I have thought ordering an inexpensive voip phone line and installing a voip telephone handset in the house so they can use to contact us. I do not want to give them a cell phone yet at their age so I think a voip home phone might be the best idea and price wise I have seen a few voip providers to be actually really affordable and inexpensive.

 

[gzink]

Use a cheap cell with no sim and get android software loaded and go with something like voip.ms using your wifi

 

[JamesK]

@gzink

You'd better hope they don't dial 911. That still works even without a SIM.

 

[Humbar]

MagicJack works really well and its dirt cheap, and easy to setup, a total no-brainer. If you have a solid Internet connection then you're good to go. Ooma is another good option as well.

 

[JamesK]

@Humbar

Fongo is still on Google Play. It's a phone app that provides free phone calls.

 

[ExDilbert]

I would go with a flip phone and a voice plus unlimited text plan (or maybe two.) Such plans can be purchased for as little $10-$15/mo but voice minutes will be limited at that price. Look for deals on the flip phone(s) as they are often dirt cheap or free. Unlimited voice can be had for about $20-$25/mo. Some also offer full 911 service as long as the address and other information on the account is accurate. It's a good starter phone for young people as there are usually no social media apps.

Some phone companies offer a cheap wireless home phone for prepaid customers. The cost for customers can be as cheap as $10/mo. For non-customers it costs more. They require power for the base.

Another option already mentioned is a cheap VoIP phone from a company like Ooma or Fongo. The issue with VoIP phones is that they probably won't work if the power or internet are out.