Landline phone for less than $80/mo in Chicago?
August 6, 2024 7:37 AM Subscribe
Family member who needs a standard landline phone with caller ID (and does not use the internet or television) in the Chicago area is currently paying $80/mo for this service, which seems absurdly high to me. Are better options available?
Unfortunately any voip type solutions aren’t acceptable since they refuse to get internet. I looked on AT&T’s website and found a quote for around $60 (which still seems high to me) but have been on hold for a while trying to talk to a human.
Unfortunately any voip type solutions aren’t acceptable since they refuse to get internet. I looked on AT&T’s website and found a quote for around $60 (which still seems high to me) but have been on hold for a while trying to talk to a human.
Would a landline-type phone that you can put a SIM card into (so, technically cell service but a landline type experience) work for their needs? While I don’t have experience with this, it seems to exist.
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:48 AM on August 6 [1 favorite]
posted by needs more cowbell at 8:48 AM on August 6 [1 favorite]
Would a landline-type phone that you can put a SIM card into (so, technically cell service but a landline type experience) work for their needs? While I don’t have experience with this, it seems to exist
If you decide to look into this, please be sure it would work during a power outage or blackout. Note that one HUGE difference between VOIP and landlines is this. A cell phone works during a power outage but can't charge so would be losing charge during a blackout. A landline just keeps working as usual during both. If this a concern, then even if the sim-based landline-experience feels the same it might not be. Make sure they'd be ok with that. In the new era of climate change heat waves and heat domes and in Chicago with an elderly person, I would not want to have them phone-less in a summer blackout.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:43 AM on August 6 [2 favorites]
If you decide to look into this, please be sure it would work during a power outage or blackout. Note that one HUGE difference between VOIP and landlines is this. A cell phone works during a power outage but can't charge so would be losing charge during a blackout. A landline just keeps working as usual during both. If this a concern, then even if the sim-based landline-experience feels the same it might not be. Make sure they'd be ok with that. In the new era of climate change heat waves and heat domes and in Chicago with an elderly person, I would not want to have them phone-less in a summer blackout.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:43 AM on August 6 [2 favorites]
I’m in Chicagoland. My voip phone on AT&T fiber will continue to function on their end even if the power is out locally on my end. For the modem and networking units on my end to stay functional I need to have a battery backup.
posted by zenon at 12:07 PM on August 6
posted by zenon at 12:07 PM on August 6
Not an answer, but some helpful terms:
You are looking for 'POTS' aka 'Plain Old Telephone Service' offered by a 'CLEC' 'Competitive Local Exchange (telephone) Carrier'. The default phone company (i.e. AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, CenturyLink depending on your region) is called the ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier). The CLECs usually piggyback their POTS and ADSL off the CLEC's for some or all of the way to the home, and all the ILECs want to abandon their POTS business obligations ASAP, so good luck finding a vendor.
BTW, a lot of POTS now is just copper analog phone wire service from the home to underground vaults which end up converting the call to VoIP over fiber anyway.
posted by zaixfeep at 12:09 PM on August 6 [5 favorites]
You are looking for 'POTS' aka 'Plain Old Telephone Service' offered by a 'CLEC' 'Competitive Local Exchange (telephone) Carrier'. The default phone company (i.e. AT&T, Verizon, Frontier, CenturyLink depending on your region) is called the ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier). The CLECs usually piggyback their POTS and ADSL off the CLEC's for some or all of the way to the home, and all the ILECs want to abandon their POTS business obligations ASAP, so good luck finding a vendor.
BTW, a lot of POTS now is just copper analog phone wire service from the home to underground vaults which end up converting the call to VoIP over fiber anyway.
posted by zaixfeep at 12:09 PM on August 6 [5 favorites]
Most carriers, around here at least, are phasing out copper landlines. They say things like existing copper landline customers won't be disconnected, but are continuing to encourage those customers to transition to newer technologies. I have to wonder if the high pricing is part of that, to make it unappealing so customers will not sign up or will migrate toward newer and less costly technologies. Which is to say, even if you did find something cheaper, given these trends I would not be surprised if you wound up with the same problem not too far down the road.
Is there a specific reason this family member is set on using a copper landline, or might they be open to an alternative?
"When the power goes out, my landline still works."
This is true, only as long as the batteries at your Central Office hold out. Which is generally quite a while. But this is also true with a cell phone. The towers generally all have power redundancy of some kind, and you can easily (re)charge your cell phone from a usb power brick of whatever capacity you want.
"Cell phones are difficult to use."
What about a cellular 4G/LTE desk phone? There are also options to let you make and receive calls using your existing, wired telephone, by connecting it to an adapter paired with a cell phone. These options can also be powered by an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) or a battery bank, to provide similar "works when the power is out" capability.
Back when I still wanted a "landline", I disconnected the telephone service wiring at the junction box outside my house, and wrote a note in the box warning for it not to be reconnected. I had a VOIP adapter (broadband Internet, in my case, but the same could be done with a 4G/LTE cellular VOIP adapter) and back-wired it into my existing house telephone wiring. (That's why I made sure to disconnect it at the junction box!) This made all of the existing phone jacks in my house active, using my VOIP service. I didn't have to run new wiring all over the place; the transition from old copper POTS to modern VOIP was basically transparent. My broadband modem, networking hardware, and VOIP analog telephone adapter (ATA) are all running on a UPS, so even in a power outage, I still had Internet access and telephone service. Again, you could do the same with a cellular VOIP adapter, and run the hardware on a UPS so phone service would continue in a power outage.
Not only is the monthly cost generally going to be substantially lower than $80/mo for 4G/LTE service, but in addition to Caller ID, you'll almost certainly get things like voicemail, and no long distance fees, that you may not be getting on the current POTS line.
posted by xedrik at 12:41 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
Is there a specific reason this family member is set on using a copper landline, or might they be open to an alternative?
"When the power goes out, my landline still works."
This is true, only as long as the batteries at your Central Office hold out. Which is generally quite a while. But this is also true with a cell phone. The towers generally all have power redundancy of some kind, and you can easily (re)charge your cell phone from a usb power brick of whatever capacity you want.
"Cell phones are difficult to use."
What about a cellular 4G/LTE desk phone? There are also options to let you make and receive calls using your existing, wired telephone, by connecting it to an adapter paired with a cell phone. These options can also be powered by an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) or a battery bank, to provide similar "works when the power is out" capability.
Back when I still wanted a "landline", I disconnected the telephone service wiring at the junction box outside my house, and wrote a note in the box warning for it not to be reconnected. I had a VOIP adapter (broadband Internet, in my case, but the same could be done with a 4G/LTE cellular VOIP adapter) and back-wired it into my existing house telephone wiring. (That's why I made sure to disconnect it at the junction box!) This made all of the existing phone jacks in my house active, using my VOIP service. I didn't have to run new wiring all over the place; the transition from old copper POTS to modern VOIP was basically transparent. My broadband modem, networking hardware, and VOIP analog telephone adapter (ATA) are all running on a UPS, so even in a power outage, I still had Internet access and telephone service. Again, you could do the same with a cellular VOIP adapter, and run the hardware on a UPS so phone service would continue in a power outage.
Not only is the monthly cost generally going to be substantially lower than $80/mo for 4G/LTE service, but in addition to Caller ID, you'll almost certainly get things like voicemail, and no long distance fees, that you may not be getting on the current POTS line.
posted by xedrik at 12:41 PM on August 6 [2 favorites]
Hey so medical devices with safety pendants were no monthly fee deals that required a real POTS line. There’s also routing issues with SIM services. I’m not looking up the specs (whether the lines took advantage of an out of spec feature of POTS or vice versa) but it is a real issue even if there’s virtual routing coming off copper it is not the same as any VoIP or cell service.
Now what companies really want is no like to the house at all and sat and/or wifi in urban areas, that’s another topic.
posted by geoff. at 6:54 PM on August 6
Now what companies really want is no like to the house at all and sat and/or wifi in urban areas, that’s another topic.
posted by geoff. at 6:54 PM on August 6
Okay curiosity got the better of me. It has to do with digit stripping and consecutive calls I believe (call center, loved one, then 911), then if it is set up to fall and make a call it’ll add a digit to show if it was human or fall indication. POTS outgoing translation will strip this digit (note also asteroid and some keys are special on pots translation. Digging through documentation on these devices Bluetooth plus cell phone is supported, I’m guessing the Bluetooth hooks to the jack and does pots outgoing translation. This explains the caller is requirement too, just how the device decides to route the calls.
If this indeed a panic device it’ll be probably I would seriously considering looking for assistance in getting a modern device because Bluetooth and cell phone … well I wouldn’t trust. There’s probably help financially for switching. I could do further digging but you’re relying on AT&T setting up the translations correctly (I’m guessing they do for situations like this and probably other automated alarms).
But the monthly fee is probably the way to go as it is accounting for rapidly changing phone technology.
posted by geoff. at 7:29 PM on August 6
If this indeed a panic device it’ll be probably I would seriously considering looking for assistance in getting a modern device because Bluetooth and cell phone … well I wouldn’t trust. There’s probably help financially for switching. I could do further digging but you’re relying on AT&T setting up the translations correctly (I’m guessing they do for situations like this and probably other automated alarms).
But the monthly fee is probably the way to go as it is accounting for rapidly changing phone technology.
posted by geoff. at 7:29 PM on August 6
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posted by AlexiaSky at 8:12 AM on August 6 [1 favorite]