We had thought of doing that as well years ago. However, there are to
many friends and family around the world that have our number. So, we
bought a MagicJack (voip) original one years ago and have since bought a
MagicJack Go, have it plugged into our router and cordless phones. It
costs us $39 (I think) for the year and another $12 to keep our current
number each year (a way they get a little more money). That is basically
like keeping your number for free. It is a bit over $4 a month. Much
easier to keep for those that have had our number for millions of years
than to try and find everyone and give them the new number (our cell
numbers). 911 works fine with MagicJack as you tell them your address
and they load it into E911 services.
Now, an extra bonus with the MagicJack, I hooked up PhoneTray
(phonetray.com) a piece of software on my computer. You purchase a USB
modem ($20 from them or a few bucks cheaper on Amazon) and connect the
MagicJack to it and then your phones to the other port on the USB modem.
For a year, calls coming in are screened against their database and
blocked (if you choose to in the software), you can also add numbers
that are scams and those numbers go out to the rest of the people that
have phone tray. I have added a lot of numbers and have seen it block a
lot. Some do get through, but only one time. Then they charge you $10 a
year to use the database. This would bump the phone cost to $61 a year
($39 for MagicJack, $12 to keep your number, $10 for phone tray). still
very reasonable.
A little benefit to the MagicJack, you can take it with you when you
travel overseas, plug it into a wired ethernet jack in the hotel, hook a
cheap phone to it and make and receive calls while there to the states
free as you are really calling from a stateside number.
73...bruce
On 11/25/2016 9:07 AM, John Chauvin via BVARC wrote:
The Chauvins are thinking of dropping the land line after more than 50
years. As amateur radio operators tend to be practical people, I
would like to get your opinion of the advisability of this. We have
good cell service both at our home and at our lake property and feel
that the $55 that we send to Ma Bell each month is a waste. We have
no problem with minutes usage on the cell phones. Furthermore, about
90% of the time, the calls we get on the land line are phone
solicitors or computers (we are getting more and more on the cell
phones also, but C'est la vie). The usual argument against dropping
the land line I hear is "I like to have a hard piece of copper between
me and the outside world." I have said that for years, but am now
backing away from that: Even in the worst of times, usually text
messaging gets through.
One concern I do have is regarding 911. Have they resolved this so if
I use my cell phone, it knows where I am or are there still problems
such as this or others?
So you don't "entertain" the whole reflector, please reply to only me,
and not the whole reflector.
Tnx es 73
de John, K5IZO
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Bruce Paige, KK5DO
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