Originally Posted by
sestivers
The down side is that if you call 911 from your cellular phone instead of the conventional line, the 911 operator won't immediately know your address, depending on whether or not this service is available in your locale.
Leave your wired phone hooked up as you can always call 911 with it so you always can call 911 without needing to worry about the operator not knowing where your calling from.
If your cell phone is not more than about 2 years old it has a GPS receiver chip in it and will report it's location to the emergency services operator. Most cell phones hide this function not making it available to the phones user unless they pay extra for this service.
Originally Posted by
sestivers
Another option is Vonage... it's about $18/month for 500 long-distance minutes. Incoming, toll-free, and local calls are unlimited. If you go above 500 minutes, it's about 3 cents per minute.
There are many other VoIP phone service providers, Vonage is one that advertises a lot. If you have high speed internet there is no reason to have wired phone service. Just sign up with a VoIP service provider. You don't need a computer running VoIP software to have access to VoIP services. Dedicated VoIP phones connect to your RJ45 or WiFi network so thers no need to run your computer all the time or worry about your computer dieing and leaving you without phone service until it's fixed or replaced. You can also purchase a VoIP box that allows connecting your standard wired phone to the network and will function exactly the same as your wired service did. google "Voip service providers" and pick one. There are a few WiFi phones now on the market that work from any WiFi hot spot and not just from your personal network.
You'll read about people having problems with there VoIP service. The trick to having a VoIP service operate as well as a wired phone is using a router with a firewall in the box if your on a cable internet system. Cable internet systems are like the old party line systems of years gone by. The VoIP phone must listen to all the traffic on the cable causing starts, stops, and bumps. The firewall prevents the phone from hearing all that traffic so there are no starts, stops, and bumps. DSL lines do not have this problem as your the only user on the line so a firewall router is not required.