AT&T Wireless Home Phone

[rekees4300]

Does anybody have this from AT&T? It is $20 per month for unlimited nation wide calling. I am looking at this for my Mother. Her wired service is not clear all of the time and cost $75 per month.

Don't have AT&T but do have Verizon similar phone for $20. We got it because our regular copper landline from Frontier goes out often (like whenever it rains) and this serves as a backup phone. Things I really like about it is that it works with 911, does NOT use the Internet, has battery so works even if the electric is off, you can plug your existing phones into it and/or transfer your existing number to it. Bottom line, your mother could replace $75 with $20 and have better service.

Verizon LTE Internet and Home Phone | Verizon Wireless

 

[/pine]

And that is why the local landline phone company will go broke eventually. Hard to compete with something like this.

There will always be rural areas where there are plenty of folks living...but there is no wireless service...and unless a new technology that does not use towers comes along...there likely never will be...so copper hard lines are are the only alternative other than satellite...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Cell service is weak in my house, i have to use copper line to call my dad, or he cant hear me well. Cell breaks up too much.

 

[kcflhrc]

So why not just use a cell phone? Seems redundant to me

 

[hawkeye08]

I have the ATT wireless home phone with Internet. It is $30 plus fees per month and shares the data from our ATT plan that we have (30GB shared on 3 lines). We had no problem transferring the number and have better call quality. The plan was to take the unit with us when we traveled and have internet and our home phone with us. Life happened and we are not traveling as much as planned and some of our camping is with no hookups.. We had unreliable internet service when we got it, so having a backup (I work from home) was important.

We changed internet providers (now have decent internet) so have not needed the backup and with not traveling as much as planned, have decided to switch to a VoIP phone (likely Google Voice) and save the $30 per month. Sometimes a powerfail will cause issues with the box coming back online when power is restored (last time had to reset, cycle power, pull battery a number of times before it worked). We have smartphones and can use them as hotspots sharing the 30GB so will still have option of internet when traveling. My plan during the summer was to switch to Mobley Connected car plan to replace it, but procrastinated too long and missed out so will make do with using the phone as hotspot when needed.

 

[hawkeye08]

So why not just use a cell phone? Seems redundant to me

90 year old that does not handle change well if I read the OP correctly. He can likely improve phone service, but not change the device his mother uses and not confuse her.

 

[k0ua]

There will always be rural areas where there are plenty of folks living...but there is no wireless service...and unless a new technology that does not use towers comes along...there likely never will be...so copper hard lines are are the only alternative other than satellite...

The problem is going to be who is going to maintain the copper plant. The landline phone companies have been letting their copper plant "go" now for several years. Just sorting thu good pairs as their customer base abandons the copper based service to find pairs to service those that are left. They are not putting money into repairing what they have in the ground and overhead. It will be a cascading failure. I know I don't paint a pretty picture, but it is not going to be a pretty picture.

 

[k0ua]

So why not just use a cell phone? Seems redundant to me

We decided our 80+ year old with dementia could not operate a cell phone. We certainly considered it, and picked out the only flip phone that Verizon had, and it would have been fine for some people, but she could not operate, nor understand, nor keep it charged. A person with dementia cannot learn anything new. But things from their past can often still be operated just fine. At least for a while. I think it has to do with that old devices like an old analog phone are operated by a different part of the brain as an automatic response. But anything that requires learning cannot be done. My mother in law could not retain anything you told her for more than about 5 seconds, literally.

Here is a test. "I am going to tell you 3 colors, they are red, green, and blue. Now I am going to ask you to repeat those three colors back to me in just a few seconds. Again those colors are red, green and blue. Ok are you ready?" "yep" Ok, what are those three colors?

"uh...um...let see now"....

They cannot do it.

 

[/pine]

The problem is going to be who is going to maintain the copper plant. The landline phone companies have been letting their copper plant "go" now for several years. Just sorting thu good pairs as their customer base abandons the copper based service to find pairs to service those that are left. They are not putting money into repairing what they have in the ground and overhead. It will be a cascading failure. I know I don't paint a pretty picture, but it is not going to be a pretty picture.

IMO...What you are painting is wildly abstract...and rather than being ugly the picture is fairly bright for rural customers who are in areas without wireless service and rely on hardlines (copper)...

The term "last mile" can actually mean 10-20 miles (or further) in reality when it comes to the closest FO switch...There will always be contractors that do nothing but maintain the "last mile" infrastructure...even if it becomes a cottage/niche industry well into the future...(after all the big guys have moved on)...

There is nothing not pretty about some of the elegance behind the advanced automated switches that move both voice and data from fiber to copper for the "last mile"
Also look for some of the fading cable companies to move to "last mile" technology...They can invest in limited infrastructure and also maintain the "last mile" of copper...

Advancements in technology are constantly changing all possibilities so unless there is an advancement in the range of current wireless (voice/data) coms using current tower technology...they are not going to abandon the customer base that is currently without wireless service...

 

[kf4uda]

90 year old that does not handle change well if I read the OP correctly. He can likely improve phone service, but not change the device his mother uses and not confuse her.

You nailed it Hawkeye. I learned a valuable lesson with my Elderly Dad about changing a thermostat. Not looking for a repeat with my Mom . With the wireless home phone it just changes the delivery method. The end device stays the same.