[Clough]

Hi, All!

My current landline phone service provider is Mediacom. Have always had trouble with that service since switching to them a couple of years ago. Their service burns out the connections in the junction box in my basement and the service department is next to impossible to get a hold of if you try to call them. Plus, I've had a worker in one of their offices be extremely rude to me when I was speaking calmly when asking, in a very polite manner, about an issue. I've continually tried to solve issues with them, but they never get solved.

I'm on a dial-up for my modem right now. Not my choice. Used to be on a wi-fi connection. But, the computer that can do that won't start. So, I'm stuck for the time being until I fix the start-up problem.

Continually get disconnected from the Internet because of the lousy phone service. Also, if the electricity goes out, so does the phone!

Do you know of any service providers there might be that cover the upper Midwest of the United States that are inexpensive and don't require a customer to have a bunch of things that the customer doesn't need, please?

I would just like a simple landline phone service without any extras!

I've also got to hurry before I get disconnected again! :eek:

Thanks!

[ebaines]

How about good old AT&T?

[Clough]

Hi, ebaines!

I had been with AT&T for many years. I have considered switching back to them. I don't know if you knew or not that a number of years ago, they were having many customers leave them because of poor customer service.

They sent out letters, basically saying that they had learned their lesson and wanting the customers to return.

Would still like to see if there might be some bare minimum alternatives out there...

Thanks!

[KISS]

You can always go with a dry DSL line and then add a Voip service such as Skype.

There are Skype gateways that allow regular land line type phones to connect.

Problems are generally:
1) No 911 service; You can obtain the 10 digit 911 number though for your area.

2) You have to provide a UPS for coverage during a power outage.

With Skype, you can obtain a real phone number. Calls are typically around 2.1 cents per minute.

[Clough]

What do you mean by a "dry" DSL line, please?

My current phone number is listed literally thousands of times on sites on the Internet. I'd like to keep the number. It's for my various businesses.

Thanks!

[KISS]

With number portability, you still should be able to keep it.

"Dry" might be a bad word to use, but you can get DSL without dial tone. Meaning a regular phone cannot be used without some sort of Voice over IP service. DSL is Digital Subscriber Line and is used for internet service over phone lines.

Your other comment about losing phone service when the power goes out should not happen or is related to some other failure mode.

In general a phone company is a "monopoly" of sorts. One company may be responsible for the wires or getting the home connected to a central office. Then your line is turned over to another telco for service.

So you can even have lines serviced by say Verizon and have AT&T telephone and Cavtel as an ISP provider. Probably wouldn't be a good thing to do though.

[Clough]

Money is definitely an issue right now. Hopefully, not for very long, though. Had a job interview yesterday and today. Have another one, tomorrow.

So, the simpler, the better as far as the phone is concerned.

When the electricity goes out, the phone goes out for anyone who uses Mediacom for their personal phone service. That company requires electricity from the home to operate their box that they have in the basement.

[KISS]

Oh. That phone company, I don't think is being responsble. Verizon, when they install FIOS (Fiberobtic - internet, phone and TV services) provide a UPS that, I believe, gives about 8 hours ob backup.

I have a UPS on a wireless telephone base station that provides backup.

[Clough]

Does Verizon provide just landline phone service?

Thanks!

[KISS]

Verizon does in my area.

Check availability: https://www22.verizon.com/ForYourHom...leQualify.aspx

[Clough]

Verizon does in my area.

Check availability: https://www22.verizon.com/ForYourHom...leQualify.aspx

Dang! I was hoping they did, but unfortunately they don't for my address. :(

Now, I'm wondering about Sprint? I was told that they also offer a landline phone service.

I managed to get to the Version site with my phone line Internet connection. However, I'm sure the reason that it was easier was because there aren't all that many people on the Internet in the U.S. who are using a phone line to get on the Internet.

[KISS]

Well, I use a phone line to get on the internet, but it's Verizon DSL. I'm not a great fan of that company, but their stuff works.
Their websites are designed to the point I rarely visit them because info is scarce and hard to find. Their techs can be really bad or really good. One of their techs said I had a pristine DSL line. Just don't like the fact that they are promoting FIOS, but it's not available at my location. DSL can be faster than it is, 3 MB/768K, which is the speed I'm provisioned for but their not exploiting the technology.

If I used the home wiring with filters I would have very lousy service. I can't use them anyway because of too many phones.
One segment in the house got wet and I haven't reconnected it yet. I tried once, but the line was still wet. After 5 months though it should be OK to try again.

I'm not real sure why you can't get better internet service on your Windows 98 machine. Can you add an Ethernet card an/or does the machine support it.

At this point, I have cell phone service, DSL service and a land line service. TV comes from an rooftop antenna. The cell phone service is 450 rollover minutes and 5000 anytime minutes + unlimited internet per month. Anytime (5000 minutes) is after 9:00 Pm and on weekends.

Most calls are made on a weekend. I forward my cell to the call we want to make and then call the cell. I can make calls using Skype for $0.02/minute using a headset. I'd eventually like to upgrade to a Skype gateway that would allow the home phones to be used. It seems like I like the speaker phone option. They are the phones we use all the time. Mom has limited mobility, so a phone needs to be nearby everywhere.

For instance, downstairs has 2 phones and 2 external bells. One phone is handsfree. My router has a location and my shop has a location, both unused at this time.

The porch has a phone which can use either modular or 4 prong.

The kitchen has two phones. A wall phone with huge buttons (Dad was hard of hearing) and an older cordless.

The living room has a cordless/speakerphone.

One bedroom has a cordless + a princess phone.

Mom's room has an PERS alarm system, Telephone base station/hands free and phone/answering machine. The larm system can be used as a speakerphone for answering use only.

It's a complex system that has evolved using mostly quad wire.
It was once a single hard-wired line, then 3 modular jack locations and 2 phones and one external bell. This occurred when the phone company was a monopoly.

Then as modular became more prevelent and people didn't want the old style phones, others were added.

The most useful upgrade was the 4 line wireless/speakerphone/answering machine system with a UPS for backup.

[Clough]

Hi, KISS!

As I've mentioned previously on this thread, money is an issue. Although, business is beginning to pick up some. That's a real good thing!

I should be able to use a Wi-Fi Internet connection with the Windows '98 machine. Have tried to, but never was able to get the CD for the installation to work properly on it. Can't even get a driver to work on it for a digital camera that my daughter got me for Christmas.

Incidentally, I don't watch T.V. but I am a phone and light nut! Many landline phones in my home as well as lots of lighting?

Just so you know, performance on this computer is running at only 75%.

Thanks!

[KISS]

Ah! Light bulb turned on.

I probably have the reason why your phone service dies although I don't know what the box downstairs does, but it has to "ring the phones".

A CO generally supports what's called a REN (Ringer Equlivelence Number) of 5 which means it can ring 5 standard phones (such as the model 500 with a real bell). Any modern phone has the REN on the phone somewhere. A lot of VOIP phone systems support a REN of 3. When you exceed whatever the limit is, the phones might not ring or partially ring or fail all together.

So, I think, you need to figure this out. Add up all the REN's of your phones and determine how many the gizmo supports.

[KISS]

I checked Mediacom's website. Useless information. I hate when these bozo's say $19.95/mo for 12 mo and then don't tell you what the price is after that.

It seems similar to FIOS and internet is available through them. $19.95/mo for existing customers for 12 months. Then it might go to $49.00/mo based on the new customer rate. Who knows.

Clough:
Are you sure you used WIFI? WIMAX would make more sense.

[KISS]

If you get bored, here is a whole forum dedicated to Mediacom: Mediacom forum - dslreports.com broadband community

[Clough]

Ah!! Light bulb turned on.

I probably have the reason why your phone service dies although I don't know what the box downstairs does, but it has to "ring the phones".

A CO generally supports what's called a REN (Ringer Equlivelence Number) of 5 which means it can ring 5 standard phones (such as the model 500 with a real bell). Any modern phone has the REN on the phone somewhere. A lot of VOIP phone systems support a REN of 3. When you exceed whatever the limit is, the phones might not ring or partially ring or fail all together.

So, I think, you need to figure this out. Add up all the REN's of your phones and determine how many the gizmo supports.

I'm not sure what the box in the basement really does either.

Currently, there are two phones operating in my home. Although, I've had as many as five hooked up to operate at the same time. That was before I had the present phone service, though. When I had five hooked up, there were not phone outage problems, (other than when I didn't pay the bill!)

Present phone system will cease to function when the electricity goes out. Also, after I've been on the computer awhile. I'll get disconnected many times from the Internet during the day or night and won't have a dial tone for a short while.

[Clough]

I checked Mediacom's website. Useless information. I hate when these bozo's say $19.95/mo for 12 mo and then don't tell you what the price is after that.

It seems similar to FIOS and internet is available through them. $19.95/mo for existing customers for 12 months. Then it might go to $49.00/mo based on the new customer rate. Who knows.

Clough:
Are you sure you used WIFI? WIMAX would make more sense.

Thanks for checking their website! My total bill per month for just the phone service is $55.00 and some cents.

I'm pretty sure that what I was using was a Wi-Fi. It was an antennae from the tower of the computer that I placed in a window to latch onto the signal from a neighbor who has wireless Internet.

[Clough]

If you get bored, here is a whole forum dedicated to Mediacom: Mediacom forum - dslreports.com broadband community

I can honestly say that I'm never bored. There's always something interesting to do, IF I put my mind to it!

I will check out what's on that site!

Tired, feeling alone (not lonely), wondering what I'm going to do about the future... But, bored?

Na!

[Stratmando]

Clough, Some phone systems have an input for 24 Volts DC(2 12 volt/7 Ah Batteries)more or less.
This is better than an Inverter, as there is no conversion from AC back to the DC it requires.