I have been on a mobile only for about 4 years. Broadband is cable so I don't have a need for a landline. I have never given it a seconds thought since going 100% mobile. But we do not have any kids and my wife and I are hardly home. I think if I were to have kids though I would reconsider. Having a landline personally gives me a bit more comfort with little ones in the home in case of an emergency. IMO.
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Telephone survey
- Thread starter jgohlke
- Start date
MiamiCubano
El Martillo (My Boxing Name)
I have a cell phone, a sat. phone and a land-line. Will always keep a land-line as it's cost is absolutely miniscule and there are certain conversations that can be had on a land-line that are best not conducted on cells. Plus, there have been instances, at least here in hurricane country, where land-lines have been the only source of communication outside of VHF in bad times. Experienced that a couple of seasons ago, when we blew through every letter of the alphabet, started on the greek-system, and had some significant damage to the area. Cell phones didn't work for days...land lines did.
I was battened down away from VHF, so I was thankfull for land-lines, crank-up radios and televisions, and MREs.
I was battened down away from VHF, so I was thankfull for land-lines, crank-up radios and televisions, and MREs.
tsmckenney
Mick
Both, but cell phones, man..... :angry:
Cell phones are like air mattresses. Neither one works very well.
Cell phones are like air mattresses. Neither one works very well.
jgohlke
My other hobby
Interesting that a couple of folks think or have had experiences that indicate a land line is more robust or storm resistant than mobile. It's just the opposite of my experience.
We live near Orlando and during the hurricane season of '04 we lost power on 3 separate occasions. While the landline always survived the actual storm, we lost dialtone by the next day. Local news reported that the power generation (generator size, fuel capacity, etc) was insufficient to run the phone system for more than 24 hours, mostly a lot less.
The cell phone system seemed more hardened. It also survived the storm and it stayed online for a couple of days before their generators ran out of gas. Local news reported that the cellular system has better backup.
During the aftermath, there were many reports about the infrastructure and how depended we are on gasonline. It's amazing how quickly you are reduced to eating cold, canned food and standing inline for ice when your state stops getting gasonline deliveries. What I took away from all the information was that the cellular system is designed to withstand a pretty severe storm that would like knock out above ground lines/poles. It is also designed to come back online sooner. Also the cellular system is better able to withstand localized damage (losing a cell tower or two) and still provide system-wide functionality.
The emergency responders rely on cellular as well. We heard several reports that the cellular system can be turned off for regular use (that's you and me) where only the emergency folks have access. I don't believe this happened here locally, but they did ask us to use the system only as much as necessary.
For us (all 3 times) we lost our utilities in this order:
1. electricity (almost as soon as it got good and windy, the least robust of all of our services)
2. Cable (both TV and internet) - during the storm...radio news sucks.
3. Landline (the next day)
4. Cellular (2 days after the storm)
5. Natural gas - worked through all 3 storms and the aftermath. Service not interrupted.
For the most part, because the state was so short of gasoline, the utilities all came back on at the same time. Because the local stores were also without power, we couldn't get gas (local gas stations either out of gas or no generator power).
After the storms, we did buy a generator, but keeping it fed with gasonline will be a problem if the power stays out for longer than 4 or 5 days.
We thought about getting one of those automatic generators that run on natural gas. It could be plumbed right into the gas feed for the house (no fuel worries) and wired right into the house to automatically kick on..... but didn't want to shell out the $3-8 grand.
Here's hoping for a quiet hurricane season!
We live near Orlando and during the hurricane season of '04 we lost power on 3 separate occasions. While the landline always survived the actual storm, we lost dialtone by the next day. Local news reported that the power generation (generator size, fuel capacity, etc) was insufficient to run the phone system for more than 24 hours, mostly a lot less.
The cell phone system seemed more hardened. It also survived the storm and it stayed online for a couple of days before their generators ran out of gas. Local news reported that the cellular system has better backup.
During the aftermath, there were many reports about the infrastructure and how depended we are on gasonline. It's amazing how quickly you are reduced to eating cold, canned food and standing inline for ice when your state stops getting gasonline deliveries. What I took away from all the information was that the cellular system is designed to withstand a pretty severe storm that would like knock out above ground lines/poles. It is also designed to come back online sooner. Also the cellular system is better able to withstand localized damage (losing a cell tower or two) and still provide system-wide functionality.
The emergency responders rely on cellular as well. We heard several reports that the cellular system can be turned off for regular use (that's you and me) where only the emergency folks have access. I don't believe this happened here locally, but they did ask us to use the system only as much as necessary.
For us (all 3 times) we lost our utilities in this order:
1. electricity (almost as soon as it got good and windy, the least robust of all of our services)
2. Cable (both TV and internet) - during the storm...radio news sucks.
3. Landline (the next day)
4. Cellular (2 days after the storm)
5. Natural gas - worked through all 3 storms and the aftermath. Service not interrupted.
For the most part, because the state was so short of gasoline, the utilities all came back on at the same time. Because the local stores were also without power, we couldn't get gas (local gas stations either out of gas or no generator power).
After the storms, we did buy a generator, but keeping it fed with gasonline will be a problem if the power stays out for longer than 4 or 5 days.
We thought about getting one of those automatic generators that run on natural gas. It could be plumbed right into the gas feed for the house (no fuel worries) and wired right into the house to automatically kick on..... but didn't want to shell out the $3-8 grand.
Here's hoping for a quiet hurricane season!
MiamiCubano
El Martillo (My Boxing Name)
Hope so as well. When So. Florida got pounded two seasons ago, we lost cell "lines" immediately. Land lines stayed up the entire time. Plus, one of the disadvantages of loss of power is loss of eventual cell battery, with the exception of generators, back and forth to car chargers, etc. Those are limited as well, depending on the circumstances and how quickly things return to normal. The reality was, that it was not always possible to keep a fully charged cell, and even if it was charged, the cell was not working. Have been through many, many hurricanes (bad, mediocre and non-events), and never lost a land-line through any of 'em. Knock on wood...