We're thinking of getting rid of the home phone. It's currently included in our internet package. We rarely make outgoing calls on it - they're all made on our mobiles.
The only people who call us at home are my parents or marketing research people. It seems like a waste of money when people are more likely to get us on our mobiles anyway.
are there other reasons to keep a home phone? Anyone surviving without one? What are the pros & cons?
Pro's- let's you have a wifi network for your Internet (handy once your kids are older & also using the Internet) - although you could also do this with naked dsl.
Also - if you have an old style phone, these keep working when the power is off - whereas your mobile could run out of charge.
Also - if you have family members (esp elderly ones) you might find that those people who don't themselves have mobiles will want you to have a home # to ring on - because home-home calls are cheap but home-mobile calls are expensive.
We've found the home ph handy a few times when our mobiles are out of action - the home phone never has to be repaired as such but we've had problems with our mobiles.
Last edited by AnyDream; September 28th, 2013 at 06:49 PM.
We haven't had one for two years. About to go back to it for a few reasons...
Me taking calls for ABA Helpline
Emergency phone calls - my mobile does go flat and I want the back up.
Calling Centrelink. Hate doing that from a mobile.
We haven't had a home phone for years. The only pro I can think of having one is in our area mobile reception is dodgy. Not enough to make us get one again though, it was a huge waste of money for us. We never used it for calls and the only people who called us were my Mum (can and does call the mobile) and telemarketers (rather not hear from them anyway). I really don't miss ours at all.
I am pretty close to dumping the home phone too. We don't make calls out because they are too expensive (99% are std rates), and we use our mobiles, and similarly its only a couple of people who call us on it and then a trillion telemarketers. I use it occasionally to find my mobile phone too.
Just have to check if we can get naked dsl internet and we are good to go.
Haven't had one since I moved out of home except when I briefly moved back home lol. Haven't ever wished otherwise but have always lived places that can have naked dsl.
When the brissy floods happened and we lost power for a while, I just charged my phone in the car so maybe invest in a car charger if that's a concern.
We mainly use Skype etc for overseas but for some people landline is easier and much cheaper for them to call us on. We also got it for work because some of the teleconferencing numbers were not free from mobiles. These things may have changed. It also costs us next to nothing to have it as part of bundle.
Been reading my mind, was considering posting the same question.
We tend to use our mobiles, or I will make calls from work (those calls that need to be made during business hours).
Our home line is so dodgy, any bad weather it stuff it up and all we get is crackle, then someone has to come out and fix the line. So I have been calling people back on my mobile.
In an emergency, a home line can still be used for 000 (I believe if there is still a dial tone).
our current plan is $80pm for 100Mb plus the home phone. Calls out are extra. The same provider will give us 200Mb for $80pm on naked dsl. Assuming we can access naked dsl.
DH works from home a lot and he uses either his mobile or Skype for work calls.
I suppose the only pro I care about is being able to make an emergency call if the mobile runs out of charge.
I've not had a home phone since I moved out of home. Have only ever had our mobiles...
I am thinking of perhaps getting a home phone in a couple of years though as DS gets older and will (maybe) want to call his friends. Though not even sure if it would be any cheaper than just using out mobiles (we have pretty awesome caps on our phones) so will need to look into it further before we decide.
We still have our home phone which is part of a bundle, which includes unlimited local & STD calls.
It is great to call my Mum or other family members as we can talk for ages which we couldn't do with a mobile. Also my Mum would hardly ever ring me as it would cost her to much & she wouldn't ring from a mobile as their reception is really bad.
I hardly get calls from telemarketers as we are on the 'do not call' register.
I also like it as if I have to call certain companies and know I could be on hold for ages I am not worrying about the cost.
The only reason we have a home line is due to Internet too. We don't actually have a home phone plugged in. I couldn't tell you what our home phone number is.
I'm actually contemplating putting one in in case of an emergency situation. If something happened to DH or I and we were alone with the kids, what happens if they can't find our mobiles? They're usually in our pocket, but what it they can't get it out or if we've got it charging somewhere? DD1 doesn't know about 000 yet, but once she is old enough to understand I think a homeline could be important....
We only use ours for calls we will be on hold for half an hour or so. I was going to ditch it but DD is getting to the age where long phone calls are more likely (for her and her friends). Also as she heads into the age where she will spend time home alone, the home phone is important for emergencies. She doesn't have a connected mobile and, even when she does, there is always the risk of it not being charged or "lost" if she needs to make a call quickly.
Home phone rates -both line rental and calls - are ridiculous IMO.
We have had VOIP for quite a few years now and would never go back. We pay around $5 per month to have a phone number and then it's only 12.5c to make calls anywhere in Australia. We can call overseas for super-cheap too because you only pay for a local call over in that country. I have called a Chinese mobile number, chatted for over and hour and it was only around 50c lol! The other bonus is that you don't get any telemarketing calls because the number is kept private - yay!
I personally like having a normal "home" phone as well as mobile phone (plus I need one for business anyway) - our family all prefer to call us on a landline and I never worry how long a phone call is taking. I only really use my mobile phone for texting or internet when I'm out.
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Home phone - pros & cons
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