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MineralMan

(146,317 posts)
Sun Dec 1, 2013, 03:18 PM Dec 2013

New telephones are on their way. [View all]

My wife and I decided to buy a set of new cordless phones for our land line POTS service. No big deal...lots of great bargains on Amazon for these, so we ordered a set of four...just $59, and the base unit is also an answering machine. But, then, we always keep one phone that doesn't use electricity, and that one was getting kinda funky and sometimes had a hum in it. It's an old princess phone, and it was time to replace it, too.

Off I went to eBay. And there it was. A beige ITT touchtone phone, new in its box and dating back to 1967, when touch-tone phones were pretty new. Brand new old stock. Now, why that was never taken out of its box I have no idea, but there it was and at a great price. So, that one's on its way here, too.

I also have an old oak wall farm phone connected to the POTS line, along with a 1930s candlestick rotary dial phone hooked up as well, but those won't do for times when a guy needs a touch-tone phone. So, what to replace that old Princess phone with? I like talking on the old oak phone. It's on the wall next to the kitchen door at our house, with an old stool in front of it, just like in the 1890s. The candlestick phone sits on a vintage telephone chair with attached table. I use that one occasionally, too, when I call my parents.

POTS lines are still a good thing to maintain. If the power goes out, the phone lines are still often still working, so you can call the electric company to report your outage or 911 to report whatever else is an emergency. I know lots of people have abandoned their POTS line, but I'm not ready to do that, even though we both have cell phones.

Lots of nice new phone equipment out there, if you want to hang onto your POTS line. So, here's a Poll:

Do you still maintain a POTS (Plain old telephone service) landline?


29 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
Yes, I have a POTS landline.
16 (55%)
No, I don't have a POTS landline.
13 (45%)
Nunnofyerbidness.
0 (0%)
I like to vote.
0 (0%)
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Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll
53 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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New telephones are on their way. [View all] MineralMan Dec 2013 OP
I added a POTS poll to this. MineralMan Dec 2013 #1
still have a LL sweetapogee Dec 2013 #5
Ah...good idea. I don't have one of those systems. MineralMan Dec 2013 #6
I'm a volunteer FF sweetapogee Dec 2013 #11
Other. LWolf Dec 2013 #2
I haven't had a landline since 2006, when I got my first cell phone. Vashta Nerada Dec 2013 #3
Lots of people seem to have dumped their landline. MineralMan Dec 2013 #4
AT&T is a real jerk about landlines kimbutgar Dec 2013 #7
Switched over to a VOIP landline (Ooma) a while ago SeattleVet Dec 2013 #8
My wife and I got our first cellphone in 1991. MineralMan Dec 2013 #9
I have a landline, but it's through my cable company Silent3 Dec 2013 #10
My parents get their phone service from the cable company, too. MineralMan Dec 2013 #13
Ours is much more reliable than that. n/t Silent3 Dec 2013 #19
They live out on a farm, and they lose their cable MineralMan Dec 2013 #21
It would be impossible (with the tech-shield in my roof) to not have a landline. ScreamingMeemie Dec 2013 #12
Yah, that'll protect you against star seed transmissions, too. MineralMan Dec 2013 #16
remember how before smartphones the trend in cell phones was to make them tinier and tinier? nt arely staircase Dec 2013 #14
There was an old SNL sketch about really tiny cell phones. MineralMan Dec 2013 #17
In the movie Zoolander, Will Ferrell played a crazy fashionista with a tiny, tiny phone. Arugula Latte Dec 2013 #24
Ah, maybe that's what I'm thinking of. MineralMan Dec 2013 #25
I had a very small little stupid flip phone for a while. MineralMan Dec 2013 #18
to me, the sound quality is so much better on the old cord phones. northoftheborder Dec 2013 #15
Haven't had a landline since I moved out of my parents house tabbycat31 Dec 2013 #20
I'd miss my antique phones. Really. MineralMan Dec 2013 #22
NO..we kept getting too many solicitor calls on our landline number.. Tikki Dec 2013 #23
Like you pipi_k Dec 2013 #26
See how smart you are... MineralMan Dec 2013 #28
No. People who knew us always called our cell phones gollygee Dec 2013 #27
Yes, and no mobile. enlightenment Dec 2013 #29
None of the above. Chan790 Dec 2013 #30
I've got one, but don't use it for non-emergency calls anymore Posteritatis Dec 2013 #31
I still have a land line. murielm99 Dec 2013 #32
Land line CFLDem Dec 2013 #33
Does Vonage count? Ron Obvious Dec 2013 #34
We aren't connected to the copper thatgemguy Dec 2013 #35
I suppose it will all die out someday. MineralMan Dec 2013 #36
Gave up the POTS and bundled with cable Maeve Dec 2013 #37
My ATT land line will soon be cut off Piedras Dec 2013 #38
If it works in a similar way to the Ooma system... SeattleVet Dec 2013 #50
ATT Wireless Home Phone Piedras Dec 2013 #53
Yes and I also have a couple of cell phones. I mostly use the cell phone but still want to keep Raine Dec 2013 #39
Having spent too much of my life with some form of 'communications device'........... wandy Dec 2013 #40
If the power goes out I have a cell phone... cynatnite Dec 2013 #41
Towers don't all have emergency back up power. Kaleva Dec 2013 #49
I'll worry about that when the next apocalypse happens... cynatnite Dec 2013 #52
I have a landline, but it's forwarded via Google Voice. Xithras Dec 2013 #42
We both retired from the phone company over 10 years ago IDemo Dec 2013 #43
Cell phone only is great until you think your house is on fire and ... Hassin Bin Sober Dec 2013 #46
Land line for most calls Go Vols Dec 2013 #44
Internet, cell, pots seemed like overkill and way too much money. Warren Stupidity Dec 2013 #45
I still have my POTS with a wired phone tech3149 Dec 2013 #47
Better enjoy your POTS while you can.. MicaelS Dec 2013 #48
Nope. I go purely on cell these days. backscatter712 Dec 2013 #51
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