Does anyone still have a landline telephone? If so, why?
Copper twisted pair or VOIP? Do both qualify as landlines? I’m not sure how I should answer. I have VOIP (OOMA)
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I have landline phones using VOIP. I use multi-lines for business and personal numbers. The phone uses Wifi or LAN to connect to the router. It also have bluetooth if I want to link in my cellphone.
I can easily forward calls, use the speakerphone, see caller ID, mute my mike, speed dial and have music on hold. Inbound calls can go to voicemail and that voicemail can be forwarded as an audio file to my email. Call overseas can cost as little as 7/10’s of a cent per minute. I can move the phone to any room in the house or take it with me on vacation as long as there is Internet.
Local Verizon service does not work well in my house so VOIP can work in places that have issues.
My personal issues with Ooma (mentioned by ochotona) is that they had issues with my area code and I had to buy their Premium version t be able t ouse it. It also didn’t include most of the options I wanted.
Various VOIP devices allow you to change (or add additional) VOIP companys so that you can switch between them if one is not appropriate or too costly for certain calls. Those devices can route calls between provider based upon criteria like cost or ability to handle calls or show a specific Caller ID number (CNAM).
Most of the above plusses are not available under regular telephone company services.
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Because it comes with my Xfinity package.
I am thinking more along the lines of the traditional two wire telephone service that homes have had for years. There are probably some benefits to keeping service of this type. I would like to hear what those benefits might be.
As for me, I replaced my two wire home phone service with a wireless home phone device. I used this device for a number of years. This device took a cell phone signal and allowed a traditional telephone to be connected to it. I connected the base of a cordless phone system to it and the handsets of the cordless phone system were distributed throughout the house. We used the device when we had two homes. The device allowed us to take out home phone with us when we went to the second home for an extended period of time. We did not have to pay for telephone service at two houses.
I now have a cordless phone system which has the Connect-To-Cell technology. When I am home, my cell phone connects to the cordless phone system which distributes the cell phone connectivity to the handsets. I now have the convenience of a home phone with multiple handsets but only have one telephone number to pay for.
What VOIP provider and phones are you using?
What type of annual costs (in general) are we talking?
Had Ooma, but ran into last issues so it went bye-bye. Not crazy about reliance on just cellphone as both VZW & TMo was are sub par in our location. .
I do not use VOIP. I have found that many people who use VOIP from their home, experience call quality issues. In some cases, the calls will drop but mostly the issues seem to be calls breaking up and the person on the other end of the line having issues understanding what is being said. These issues are most likely due to the internet service available at the house. For VOIP to be reliable, you must have very good internet service and one where voice traffic can be prioritized over things like gaming and streaming.
Personally I use Vooip.Ms and use CallCentric as a backup. I like Voip.Ms’s interface and options.
With Voip.ms you can create a free account. If you want to test them out, you will need to pre-pay perhaps $15. Buy a local number (40 cente to buy it and 80 cents per month to keep it).
You will either need a an adapter or phone, or you can just forward the incomming calls to your cell to test out the service. There are even apps like Zoiper which you can put on a cellphone to make call like being at home.
If you opt for per-minute calling plan, which is what seems to work for all my neighbors, the cost is that initial #1.20 to set up the service and pre-pay tyhe first month. Then on top of that, figure a penny a minute for inbound or outbound calls. A residence might pay $3 or $5 a month? Calcule how many minutes of talk time you are currently using. With Voip.ms you can cancel the service before using all the prepaid and get your money back.
I use their service to call the U.K. for less than a U.S. rate, paying 7/10’s of a cent per minute.
The adapter or phone you use+ can be any on that does SIP (OOMA devices don’t as I remember, which is why I didn’t go with their service).
You can send me a PM if you have other questions or want help. I DO NOT sell their service nor work for them. I have set their service up for 10 or 15 neighbors and neighbor businesses.
As I say, Callcentric or may of the other VOIP providers are fine, but Voip.Ms seems to have many options I want to use. One B&B is having phones in each unit and direct dial between them and cheap service to wherever they need to call. That system is being tested as the site has to rely upon satellite in ternet (I think they use Skylink) and we are testing out their location to see how well it works.
Oh, Voip.Ms (and maybe others) has an app that you can control all aspects of the service on your cellphone.
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I use Google Voice for some items when I don’t want OP to have my mobile number.
Sice GV can be used any where you have access to WI FI I guess you could call it semi mobile. 
I have a land line at home and 5 land lines at the office though Comcast.
I don’t have a cell phone. I prefer the voice quality of land lines over cell phones, where the voice drops out and comes back in.
I hear with 5G the gooberment can track you everywhere you go, and I sure wouldn’t want that.
I pay about $76 per month for a land line and internet
I believe that you will find that Voip.Ms and other VOIP providers have a lot higher quality audio than tradional copper telephone service.
Some VOIP services can be encrypted.
Mostly same here. I have a landline at home, and like the voice quality, also the reliability that it works when the electricity is out. We get weather where I live – tornadoes, hurricanes, ice storms, etc. – and power outages.
We live in a hole, not line-of-sight to the nearby cell towers, so inside the house, the service is crap, so we either hang out at the end of the driveway (never) or use wifi.
I am a reluctant owner of a cell phone. I hate it. Tiny and I don’t get along, I have no interest in apps, I navigate myself just fine without it, and I don’t want to be tracked, or my information used without my consent, or receive unwanted texts or calls. My husband made me get the phone so I could text our kid, but instead I use my laptop where I can type with all 10 fingers and not have to hold the darn thing.
A landline cannot be lost, stolen, confiscated, or tracked as easily.
I have a question for Lisa since she is on a traditional landline. Does a landline still charge for long distance telephone calls?
I have not had a traditional landline in a number of years. I would get frustrated with the bills. It seems that more than half of the bill would be taxes and fees. Is that still the case?
Yes, I’m paying for long distance. Here’s a list of my charges from February 2024:
9.99 residence unlimited flat rate service
14.63 dial tone line
11.50 VLD e-values plan
3.11 long distance calls
$36.12 subtotal
0.95 Fed excise tax
0.05 state telecom fee
1.25 911 fee
1.11 state tax
6.32 Fed Universal Service fee
6.44 Federal Subscriber Line charge
1.25 VLD carrier cost recovery charge
0.74 VLD long distance administrative charge
$18.11 subtotal
It’s been a long time, but I think I had choices about how wide my local area was and at what distance calls became long distance, and different prices for the different levels of service. Naturally, I chose the cheapest.
Can you even get a landline now?
I did not know one can text from a computer. Do you mean just send an e-mail? I would like to know how to send text to computer, since there are patients who don’t read their e-mails or listen to their voice messages, but pay attention to texts.
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For those like Lisa and I who have land lines, there are services with access numbers like Tel 3 with very cheap long distance rates. I have to use it when I need to call patients at home with cell phone numbers from other areas.
Business land line services usually include more long distance minutes than I could ever use.
It’s not email I’m talking about, it’s really just like texting, even looks the same. I have a Mac and use the Messages app in the applications folder (came with the laptop). If you have a PC, there might be an equivalent app or service. Trouble is, it might require you to have a cell phone so that you can input your phone number and get the texting capability.
Got an I-Mac and I found the Messages app. Says it is for contacting businesses and I don’t see any way you can text.
I know you can sync an Apple watch, an iPhone and an iPad together so you can send and recieve texts on all three. That solution might work with an iMac as well.
Quite a few residents of the San Francisco Bay Area have been worried about the possibility of losing landlines as of late.