Tired of high AT&T phone bills

[JeffL]

Ok - just got my ATT phone bill. $60. Local, unlimited long distance and call waiting/caller ID is really all we need but you can't buy a more basic service that doesn't have 3 way calling, selective call forwarding, and a host of other services bundled in.

So - suggestions on best alternative? We've always held off of VOIP options just because we're concerned about things like 911 service, losing phone service in various situations, and other "comfort" factors. But I assume things have progressed quite a bit since we last considered alternatives.

Thanks,

Jeff

[BennyProfane]

I finally gave in and went with the VOIP solution, though I am leery of it for just the reasons you list. But given that it costs me $21 a month and includes unlimited nationwide long-distance, I decided to put up with the occasional outage.

I find phone charges outrageous, especially cell phone charges. Which is why I still don't own a cell phone.

[Jazar]

I finally gave in and went with the VOIP solution, though I am leery of it for just the reasons you list. But given that it costs me $21 a month and includes unlimited nationwide long-distance, I decided to put up with the occasional outage.

I find phone charges outrageous, especially cell phone charges. Which is why I still don't own a cell phone.

I'm the other way. I acquiesce to the idea of an overpriced cell phone bill by not owning a home phone. Haven't missed having a home phone for about 3 years now.

[Skipper]

I'm about two bills short of just saying to hell with it and ditching mine entirely. I feel your pain. Mine is more than 60 a month due to the fact that calling family gets billed at some astronomical rate yet when I call them on my cell phone it's nearly a free call (just minute use.) In fact there is an ever growing percentage of folks switching to cell phones as their only home phone.

At this point my only reason to keep it is my home alarm system and I'm going to see if they have another way to contact me or work to monitor this system. If they can't, at the very least I'm dropping all services on the line and having it billed as a security-only line.

[Gendal]

I'm the other way. I acquiesce to the idea of an overpriced cell phone bill by not owning a home phone. Haven't missed having a home phone for about 3 years now.
When I can go more than 3 minutes with out having a dropped call I might ditch my home phone.

No matter where I go or what phone I use I have terrible luck. That includes Ft. Lauderdale too.

[Sarkus]

I'm the other way. I acquiesce to the idea of an overpriced cell phone bill by not owning a home phone. Haven't missed having a home phone for about 3 years now.

That's what I did. Except my cell phone bill is only about $40 a month. That plan gives me all the minutes I need.

[WarrenM]

Yeah, I trimmed my Sprint plan down to the bare bones of what I need and I'm paying around $35 a month now.

[BennyProfane]

When I can go more than 3 minutes with out having a dropped call I might ditch my home phone.

No matter where I go or what phone I use I have terrible luck. That includes Ft. Lauderdale too.

I never have figured out why people are willing to pay exorbitant prices (what is the new deal Sprint or somebody is advertising? $100/month and no rules at all, basically?) for what is such crappy service nobody would have put up with it on land-line phones EVER. Even the old old party line rural phones in the 50s had better service than most of the cell phone crap you get now. Why in the world do people shell out tons of money for it? There are damned few people in the world who can't afford to be out of touch for a few minutes--or a few hours--during the day.

[Robert Sharp]

I just grabbed Time Warner's phone service for $15 a month as part of my cable/internet plan. It seems to work fine, but IS subject to power outages. I still have my cell phone for such things, though. And really, it's pretty rare that an emergency happens AND the power is off. It can happen, I suppose. It's just rare and not worth worrying about, IMO.

[Charlatan]

And really, it's pretty rare that an emergency happens AND the power is off. It can happen, I suppose. It's just rare and not worth worrying about, IMO.

In my experience, a lot of times when the power goes off, THAT is the emergency. We were without power for about 48 hours this winter. Try telling my family that wasn't an emergency!

[Lorini]

I use www.voicepulse.com. It's $25 a month for unlimted long distance (US). It also has every feature under the sun, I particularly like the Do Not Disturb that still allows people to Disturb if it's important. I used 911 from it about a year and a half ago and had no issues (home burglary). The only thing is reliability of my phone calls. Sometimes I have to call people back because the connection just isn't very good. After $115 bill from AT&T I switched over (PC Mag had just recommended Voicepulse and I have never gone back.

[Robert Sharp]

In my experience, a lot of times when the power goes off, THAT is the emergency. We were without power for about 48 hours this winter. Try telling my family that wasn't an emergency!

Fair enough. But you can use your cell phone in that situation, right? Although, I suppose you have charger problems then, too. So much depends on where you live, I'm sure.

[mono]

With a kid (and another on the way), I'm too worried about the occasional emergency/power outage, as well as 911 response time via VoIP or the cell phone network. I keep a landline with only a local calling plan and caller ID, and it still nearly costs me $40/month after the multitude of fees they tack on.

We use cell phones or Skype for long distance.

[BennyProfane]

BTW, the VOIP I have comes with a battery-backup "modem" for the phone service. Supposedly even if the power goes out I'll be able to make calls for at least an hour.

Can't say I've tried it yet, though.

[rei]

can anyone who uses grandcentral comment on how well that works? better yet, anyone have an invite?