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Ditching your Landline Just Got Easier

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the taking-it-with-you dept.

QuePasaCalabaza writes "The FCC has approved a bill 5-0 that allows consumers to take their land line phone numbers and carry them over to thier wireless phones. USA Today has one of the first scoops on this ruling. The official news release [Word|PDF] is there."

6 of 358 comments (clear)

  1. No land line is great by BoomerSooner · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just as long as you don't need to use your phone during an emergency.

    Hell, I cannot get reception during home football games much less after a tornado rips through the state.

    Land line is also good for your home's alarm and tracking where a 911 call is made from.

    I guess I'm just an alarmist, but when you need to call someone, a land line is significantly more reliable than a cable phone or cell phone.

    1. Re:No land line is great by poot_rootbeer · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I guess I'm just an alarmist, but when you need to call someone, a land line is significantly more reliable than a cable phone or cell phone.

      Assuming you're in your home when this urgent need to call someone arises.

      Here in the NYC metro area, the only time I've been unable to get a cell phone call through (this was 9/11), all the landline circuits were overloaded too. I eventually managed to catch a friend in the outer suburbs on AIM, and had him call my mother and let her know I was alright.

  2. What about wireless to landline? by jdh33 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What about wanting to go back to landline service?
    I'm tired of my cell service and just want to put my wireless number on a landline. Or better yet, put my wireless number on a vonage line.

  3. Just saw by mental_telepathy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    a commerical for a new service from Cingular that would allow you to tie your cell phone to ring to your home phone when attached to a device they sell. And you don't use wireless minutes when answering at home. So, you could have the bext of both worlds.

  4. Bad idea by afidel · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Now telemarketers can no longer screen out cellphone blocks so expect more telemarketing calls on your cellphone as they can correctly claim that they no longer have the ability to tell if a number is a cell number or not.

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
  5. Re:I have DSL by Saint+Mitchell · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I couldn't agree more. However The Bell Bitches are every bit as evil.

    Lets say I want to run VOIP to bypass SBC. I have to have Cable. What about DSL you say? If I want DSL I have to have a landline so I can't bypass them. It takes cable + VOIP to bypass the Bell Bitches as of now for any ADSL. This is a total L.O.S. I've called SBC and asked them why I can't get _just_ DSL. There answer was "WE need a copper pair to run the signal on". Ok, then run it like you would if I were going to have a phone. Poof, copper pair. "Uh...we can't do that". Why? "Let me speak with my supervisor". "It is not possible to have DSL without a phone line". No it's not I just went over this with you. "Sir, it is not possible, if you'd like I can take an order for Phone + DSL and have a technician dispatched within 5-14 business days." Sure there is DSL competion...sure there is. P.S. !@#$ you SBC