Top 10 Reasons You Need Your Landline Phone

Having a landline telephone means having the kind of traditional, wired telephone service found in residential homes and businesses. Having a landline is important for several reasons.
1. Reliability – Even during a natural disaster such as a hurricane, your landline will still be operational. This may not be the case with wireless phone service.
2. Cost – With a landline, all of your local calls are unlimited usage for every call. It doesn’t change with the time of day and you never have to keep track of minutes.
3. Dependable Quality – Landline phone service offers the highest quality voice transmissions.
4. Privacy – Most cell phone users don’t think about this, but there are always eavesdroppers to worry about who are out there using devices such as scanners or even other cell phones to listen to your calls. You don’t have to worry about this with a landline, as these devices are useless to intercept landline calls.
5. Broadband Internet Services – Homes with a landline can now enjoy High-Speed Broadband Internet which requires a landline.
6. Voice Mail – Even though you do have this with a wireless phone, it is still an added benefit of having the landline. Most companies give you access to your voice mail system whether you are at home or away.
7. Directory Listings – If you only have a wireless phone, you can forget about being in the White Pages! You need a landline phone to have your number listed in the telephone directory.
8. Enhanced Calling Features – Landline providers are increasingly adding enhanced calling features such as call transfer and call forwarding.
9. No Contract – You will not need to sign a contract or have a credit check as you do with most wireless cell phone carriers.
10. Data/Voice Capabilities – A landline connection in your home is also a necessity if you have a home-based or small business because there are many capabilities available that combine data with voice that make communicating with your customers or contacts hassle-free.

As if that isn’t enough, you can also get free long distance for your landline through PhoneHog. You can sign up here: http://www.PhoneHog.com/default.asp?offer=blog. Try it yourself and see!

Top Ten Questions Asked When Switching to An Internet Phone

The O'Reilly Network posted an interesting article some time ago about the switch to internet phone service and listed the Top 10 Questions Asked When Switching To An Internet Phone. The service is still a mystery to most Americans and though information is readily available online, the answers to these questions are not common knowledge. These are questions you may ask or want to ask when you are contacting internet phone service providers for information. Especially important are questions relating to 911 service so that you understand what the implications of a switch would be in an emergency situation.

1. Can I Keep the Same Phone Number?

2. Do I Need a Broadband Connection?

3. How Does It Sound?

4. Will I Really Save Money?

5. What if the Power Goes Out?

6. What About 911?

7. Why Do I Need Free Long Distance if I Get Free Long Distance from My Cell Phone?

8. Do I Need a Computer?

9. Do I Have to Talk Through My Computer?

10. How Does Internet Telephony Perform?

Though there is usually a flat rate for internet phone service plans and free long distance, you may not be ready to make the switch - especially if it involves the purchase of new equipment. In the meantime, if free long distance is important to you, sign up with PhoneHog.

http://www.PhoneHog.com/default.asp?offer=blog

Problems with Yahoo! Voice - Stick With Your Landline

Recently Yahoo! has been pushing their new Yahoo! Voice calling plan (a program compatible with Yahoo! Messenger) in which you can make PC to Phone (landline and mobile) and PC to PC calls. They have posted long distance rates online, which would almost make anyone give up their landline - if just basing your decision on price.

But all over the internet, users are posting issues and problems ranging from horrible connections on calling 800 numbers to software downloading problems and more. It seems that the consensus is that the service is unreliable. And paying by the minute can definitely add up!

What if you were trying to call 911 and you got stuck with a bad connection? Could this mean the difference between life and death for someone? Maybe!

I'd say until that kind of internet phone calling system is improved or perfected, you should just stick with your landline for now. If long distance rates are a problem from your service carrier, you can sign up with PhoneHog and earn free long distance minutes. It's easy and free - and you don't have to switch phone service providers, so there is no hassle.

Ten Questions To Ask Before You Buy A Pre-Paid Phone Card

For those of you who are purchasing pre-paid phone cards, there are some important questions you should find out the answers to. This is to ensure you are getting your money's worth:

1. Can I reach a customer service representative 24 hours a day?

2. What fees or taxes will I be charged per call?

3. Is there a connection fee or disconnection fee?

4. Does the phone card have an expiration date?

5. What is the minute rounding process?

6. Do the rates change based on the time of day?

7. What rate will I be charged per minute for the destination I am calling?

8. Is there a guarantee that if the phone card doesn't operate properly that I will get my money back?

9. Is the company trustworthy?

10. Will I be charged for calls if the person I am calling doesn't answer?

When purchasing a phone card, there are so many things that you have to worry about! If you make a one minute phone call, many pre-paid phone cards will use minute rounding and turn that into a 5 minute phone call! Most people do not even know this. The minutes can expire if you don't use them in time, and you could be charged outrageous taxes and fees if you are not careful.

With PhoneHog, it's different, though. The minutes that you earn are free, as are all of the phone calls, and there is never a fee associated with using it. If you sign up, the program is very easy to use. Imagine making free long distance phone calls anytime you want! You never have to wait until after 7pm or 9pm where your phone company has better rates. Try signing up - you have nothing to lose except a few minutes on the phone making free phone calls!

Don't Give Up Your Landline Just Yet!

So many people have given up their landlines and have opted to just use their cell phones as their primary means of telephone communication. Although it makes sense in a way, especially due to how heavily people rely on cell phones, you shouldn't give up your landline just yet. At least one good reason is that in a natural disaster, your cell phone is most certainly not going to work. Your landline may be your only means of communication to the outside world in a situation like a hurricane.

An article I read recently said that by 2009, between 23 and 37 percent of wireless cell phone users will use their cell phone as their only telephone. Other users will choose voice over internet, or VoIP, for broadband and phone service because they like to have choices and they are all competing for the lowest prices and plans.

As far as surveys go, however, the traditional landline is said to still the most reliable phone service available. Just contact your phone company to make sure you are getting the best deal and use PhoneHog for free long distance and you won't have to give up your landline or switch your current phone number.

Phone Slamming - An Old Trick From Long Distance Phone Companies

Have you ever opened your phone bill and suddenly you discover it is from a completely different phone company than you signed up with? If so, then you have probably been slammed. Phone slamming is when your phone company switches your service to another provider without your permission. The practice is completely illegal!

If you think this may have happened to you already, go ahead and contact the telephone company that you did sign up with. Tell them very clearly that you want to reconnect your original long distance calling plan that you signed up for. The company is not allowed to charge you for this switch, and hopefully you haven’t already paid your bill because by law, you don’t have to pay the charges for the time you were switched to the other company without your permission.

However, if you did happen to pay the bill, the law says that the company that “slammed” you has to pay you back 150% of your payment. If they refuse, be sure to get in touch with the FCC to make a formal complaint.

Another way to avoid this altogether is to drop your long distance company. You can have a home phone line and with PhoneHog, you can earn free long distance minutes. It’s very easy to sign up and earn the minutes. It’s as easy as using a pre-paid phone card, but without the cost. Try it for yourself to see, and post a comment to tell us what you think!

AT&T Customers Angry After DSL Outage

Well, it looks like AT&T is finally apologizing for last Monday's DSL outage for customers in the Southeast. That night, there were several customer service problems as people called in and only received a busy signal when trying to get through to the company to find out what was going on. AT&T spokesperson Dawn Benton released a statement late last Wednesday afternoon: "We apologize that some customers received busy signals when they attempted to call for support. Again, this was due to the unusually high call volume."

To me that "apology" was rather lame in comparison to what the loss of an internet connection can do to a business or a student taking classes online. It seems that many people are hesitant to cancel because their email address is linked to their AT&T account, but I'm going to go set up a Hotmail or a Yahoo email address for free and start looking for other service providers in my area. I was personally affected and was so upset by the lack of concern from AT&T over what had happened.

How many of you were affected by this outage? Did you try to call AT&T only to get a busy signal? If so, you can vent here! Tell us all about it.