General Discussion

GoCubsGo

(34,942 posts)

19. Me, too.

Fri Feb 3, 2012, 09:27 AM

Feb 2012

I learned that lesson from an ice storm several years ago. The power went out for several days in some places. Everyone who had a corded phone had service the whole time. The rest had it until their cell phones ran out of juice. I have an old Trimline phone that I will keep until it dies. Then I'll go to Goodwill and get another. It has already outlived 4 cordless phones. My cell phone is a no-frills Net10 job that only gets used for emergencies, and an occasional long distance call, since I have racked up several hours of air time that I don't use.

We don't have U-Verse around here, but ATT keeps bugging me to get one of their cell phones. No thanks. A couple of the kids who worked with me last summer had ATT. Their coverage is horrible.

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Comcast could have killed my husband tonight. I'm furious. [View all] DebJ Feb 2012 OP

That is the problem with having everything tied to one cable company Also ... Tx4obama Feb 2012 #1

Same here hobbit709 Feb 2012 #7

Rather than trying to make a voice call during times of intermittent cell service text instead NNN0LHI Feb 2012 #14

Me, too. GoCubsGo Feb 2012 #19

I'm thinking about going back to WalMart to buy another old-fashioned phone ... Tx4obama Feb 2012 #26

AT&T provides a battery backup to its router. Fawke Em Feb 2012 #25

That was my same position for many years DebJ Feb 2012 #40

This is exactly why I don't believe in bundling... ALWAYS have a land line Ecumenist Feb 2012 #2

This is very helpful to know. Thanks for posting. pacalo Feb 2012 #3

Thanks for posting that. I will not be using COMCAST for my phone service. - n/t Jim__ Feb 2012 #4

it wasnt comcast that could have killed your husband rdking647 Feb 2012 #5

On a side note, even land-lines can go down ... especially if a tree falls on the wire outside Tx4obama Feb 2012 #8

We switched away from landlines after two 4-day outages within four months. gkhouston Feb 2012 #59

Yep, don't be too quick to abandon landlines customerserviceguy Feb 2012 #13

And here comes the scold who knows other peoples exact financial situations MattBaggins Feb 2012 #22

No, it WAS Comcast. Gormy Cuss Feb 2012 #35

My point is we did not know of this planned, scheduled outage of service. DebJ Feb 2012 #44

my landline died while my DSL part kept working. ileus Feb 2012 #64

Is there any cheap pre-paid or no-plan cell service? JustABozoOnThisBus Feb 2012 #6

Yep you are right about that. Thanks. DebJ Feb 2012 #47

Any cell phone with a charge can still call 9-1-1 even if not activated. alphafemale Feb 2012 #9

I pay too much for service, but I have cable from one company, phone from another, and internet from MADem Feb 2012 #10

Welcome to the land of unregulated utilities TexasProgresive Feb 2012 #11

Unfortunatly those are the risks with VOIP liberal N proud Feb 2012 #12

I don't know how much you pay for the bundle. My friend paid $167.00 a month for tsuki Feb 2012 #15

Thanks a lot! Appreciate it. DebJ Feb 2012 #48

See if your area has a buycott group. They can help you. nt tsuki Feb 2012 #58

Go with Consumer Cellular. ananda Feb 2012 #16

File a complaint with the FCC Klukie Feb 2012 #17

They FCC doesn't regulate Cable aptal Feb 2012 #43

Yes they do Klukie Feb 2012 #75

Please read before you post... aptal Feb 2012 #79

My hubby complained to the FCC about service..or lack of service I should say (reliability issues) Klukie Feb 2012 #80

Again... for the slow... aptal Feb 2012 #82

Again...for those who refuse to believe it... he complained to the FCC and they responded. Klukie Feb 2012 #86

Again... aptal Feb 2012 #87

K and R...nt Stuart G Feb 2012 #18

Any real phone service would fail subscribers over to a second cluster node to do PMs tjwash Feb 2012 #20

Yep. MadrasT Feb 2012 #53

That happened to my parents about 2 years ago around November. LiberalFighter Feb 2012 #21

You don't need a phone plan to call 911 jeff47 Feb 2012 #23

Really? Wow! That is great news. I do have an old plug in phone DebJ Feb 2012 #49

Yeah. I posted same above. alphafemale Feb 2012 #69

ATT has 5 and 10 dollar a month senior/disabled services sammytko Feb 2012 #24

This message was self-deleted by its author Obamanaut Feb 2012 #27

That's okay, I gave the OP a REC to balance your desired unrec. :) Zalatix Feb 2012 #36

This message was self-deleted by its author Obamanaut Feb 2012 #42

Everything, eh? Hyperbole much? Zalatix Feb 2012 #45

This message was self-deleted by its author Obamanaut Feb 2012 #60

"about" everything? HYPERBOLE much? And what if I don't step away from the keyboard? Zalatix Feb 2012 #70

So Wait NeedleCast Feb 2012 #28

I beg to differ renate Feb 2012 #34

There's this other tidbit jeff47 Feb 2012 #51

A few things: DebJ Feb 2012 #55

Indeed, the point is most certainly this Zalatix Feb 2012 #71

I reviewed my Comcast agreement, and guess what... Dreamer Tatum Feb 2012 #76

Dear Comcast Employee #__________ D Crane May 2014 #88

Internet Based VoIP services have different rules and regulations, You should read the fine print snooper2 Feb 2012 #29

Headline Should Read.... NCTraveler Feb 2012 #30

can't make decisions with no information provided byComcast ahead of time to make them DebJ Feb 2012 #56

Verizon is just as bad Patiod Feb 2012 #31

a couple of things dembotoz Feb 2012 #32

The FCC used to require the phone companies to report outages FarCenter Feb 2012 #33

This is one reason I maintain a land line that I ordinarily don't need Cleita Feb 2012 #37

You don't need to jeff47 Feb 2012 #52

Thank you. That's good to know. n/t Cleita Feb 2012 #74

Get a basic land line with no frills. Should cost about 18/month ecstatic Feb 2012 #38

If you don't subscribe to long distance it can be cheaper. Hatchling Feb 2012 #39

You don't have to subscribe to anything, including local service jeff47 Feb 2012 #54

Thats true. Hatchling Feb 2012 #77

The old "Bell System" is probably a better choice One_Life_To_Give Feb 2012 #41

as long as you didn't drop it on your foot, LOL DebJ Feb 2012 #57

Frequent scheduled maintenance outages? PatSeg Feb 2012 #46

And this is why we still have a land line nadinbrzezinski Feb 2012 #50

Having only VOIP when you need an emergency line is a BIG NO-NO. Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #61

When I signed up for my Comcast, I had to acknowledge that possibility. Dreamer Tatum Feb 2012 #62

the regulated land line service providers were (and perhaps still are) required to provide Warren Stupidity Feb 2012 #63

what if the ambulance broke down on the way? still comcasts fault? ileus Feb 2012 #65

I have Comcast and have experienced several outages. RebelOne Feb 2012 #66

Remember Jay Leno's joke about Comcast? tawadi Feb 2012 #67

So what's your plan once you know about all scheduled outages? B2G Feb 2012 #68

The Winner. nt Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #72

Any problem after today is on YOU! BOHICA12 Feb 2012 #73

Why don't you just get a landline? And why pay for Comcast or any cable? behold a pale horse Feb 2012 #78

Nationalize Comcast zorahopkins Feb 2012 #81

I'm sorry, but Comcast is not the problem here. cleanhippie Feb 2012 #83

re: "but does Verizon now do this? If I switch to FIOS, is it the same?" YES. AND THEY TRICKED ME cyberpj Feb 2012 #84

Customer service reps routinely lie and call unplanned outages "scheduled maintenance." TacoD Feb 2012 #85