Free At Last
The Phone Company’s DSL line is finished, over, done. I pulled the plug this evening after a lot of testing of the new connection and equipment. The landline phone is also over. There are no more dial-up ISPs in the area for back-up in the case of emergency, so there was no point in keeping it.
The new cable system is working, and it was actually installed on time. The installer knew what he was doing, and fixed a potential line problem [the signal was too strong] with a solution that will allow a quick fix if the signal strength falls.
Things are noticeably faster for both ethernet connections and WiFi.
The best part will be when I call the Phone Company and tell them good bye.
4 comments
I’ve sort of went through some of this.
I no longer have a tv and don’t want one. It started out one day with me questioning my cable bill and if it was worth what I was paying for it. When I got down to looking at it, I was using it more for background noise than anything else. Maybe 2 sometimes 3 programs a month I was actually looking forward to. Cut out all the reruns and BS channels you never watch and it hit me like a slap in the face, it wasn’t worth it to me. That was over a decade ago. By the time they had switched to digital, I was no longer using a tv. Can’t tell you the enjoyment of the peace I get out of no commercials.
Wasn’t too long after that I dumped the landline. I went to a cell phone for a little while but didn’t really have the reception to keep one. Finally settled for voice over IP.
The local cable company kept adding channels that few people wanted to watch, and used it as an excuse to raise prices. Most of the people who still have cable, have bills over $100/month.
My Dad really enjoyed television, and my Mother watches reruns of the old cowboy shows like Gunsmoke on one channel, but I didn’t grow up with it, and never got interested. There were other things going on that were a lot more fun.
I got politicians, pollsters, and solicitors on my landline, none of whom I want to talk to.
Ooma is a wonderful solution to giving up your land line. After initial costs, the monthly bill is $3 and change. You can keep your old phone number for a fee. And you can use all of your existing phones.
I’ve been using it for six months with no problems.
Lars, I didn’t want or use the landline since I got a cell phone, and would have dumped it years ago if the Phone Company didn’t insist that I needed the line to get DSL. Initially it was a backup system when there were still dial-up ISPs in the area, but they are all gone, so it served no useful purpose, and the published number was a magnet for solicitors.
There are a lot of companies offering VOIP telephone service, and they have gotten to the point that they are as good as regular landlines, except they won’t handle a fax machine if you need one.