Why not get a voip line like what I have and use that for the bulk of your talk and if you want keep the pots for emergencies at the lowest possible rate ...I got phonepower.com ...when I got it they had a deal 10%off whatever your 1st bill was ...so I signed up for a year which sold for $200 and the special they had going means 2nd year free ...so, without calculating all the details (they still get the taxes and fees for the 2nd year) it winds up about 8 bucks a month (you can use 5000 minutes/mo) ...modem free (s/h $15) and good customer service in the USA and knowledgeable. If you mention me we BOTH get a $10 gift on our bill as well (if this somehow violates the tos or offends anyone I will take it off any other posts ...I am not affiliated with them at all except as a customer in hopes of getting a free pizza dinner)... I researched and found it to be better than the other voip stuff. This can coexist with your pots cuz it goes over the dsl or higher connection...I find it to be so much clearer than pots was.
-----Original Message----- From: Rev. Stewart Marshall [mailto:popoz...@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 12:52 PM Subject: Re: DSL & answering machines/DSL & phone service When AT&T was AT&T they made money on the long distance portion of your Bill. That was always the money end. They also make money on Business users. Our church pays twice as much as a residential customer because we are a business. Yet we use it a lot less than a residential phone. Plus the factor you mentioned city/rural made the big difference. Stewart At 11:45 AM 2/27/2009, you wrote: I'd always go for the carrot [incentives] first before considering the stick [regulations or punishment]. >Grants and tax breaks can be offered to companies to create and provide >network broadband services within defined parameters within a >reasonably limited amount of time. The stick would only be used on >companies that take the incentives without producing desired results. >It would also be used for price gouging, and that also needs to be >defined considering the difference between cost and charges for >service, plus projected subscription base. > >Whether individual households use this service or not isn't important. >The benefits to nonusers from businesses, schools and communities being >more connected, resourceful and efficient will affect them positively >even if they don't use broadband themselves. > >BTW, if telcos never made money from residential service, how did they >pay my dividends for so many years, including 2008? They make money >from residential service in metropolitan areas, but not in rural areas. >Balancing those services might make a net zero profit. > >Business services are profitable. We just cancelled my dad's WATS line >last week now that his business is shut down. It was only $16/mo. My >cousin had a residential WATS line in the 70s that cost $500/mo, but >she could call anywhere in the world and talk as long as she wanted. >More businesses are using more services, at better rates, thus adding >to the telco bottom line. I'd like to see figures that indicate a loss >for dial tone service in metro areas. ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
