Have you been wondering if you even need home phone service anymore?  You’re likely not alone.  With the ever increasing options for VoIP, internet phone, and mobile phone plans, ditching your landline, the traditional home phone, is often seen as a way to save money.  Just make sure you truly don’t need that landline before you make your choice.

Here is a checklist of things to consider when thinking about ditching your landline:

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you still need your home phone service:

1. How is your cell phone reception at home? In some areas, mobile coverage is spotty inside the house.  If you find yourself having to walk outside to complete a call, your mobile phone may not be the ideal option.
2. Will you be able to make 911 calls? Emergency calls have been a hot button issue with VoIP services, because they are not required to carry emergency service  like traditional phone companies.  Some now include 911, but you can’t make a call if the power goes out.  That’s not very emergency friendly.
3. How’s your battery life? If you don’t regularly and reliably charge your mobile phone, you may find yourself out of luck.  Sure, home cordless phones may suffer the same fate, but the trusted corded phone doesn’t require batteries.
4. How many minutes do you have? If you talk a lot, and you don’t have an unlimited calling plan, you may want to keep your landline. It’s easy to forget how much time you’ve used and cell phone companies charge a premium for overages.  Those 2 minute calls could start to add up, ruining the very reason you dropped your landline in the first place – saving money.

Ditching your landline is a perfectly viable option these days.  However, you’ve got to be smart about it.  Going wireless or relying solely on VoIP isn’t for everybody.  Make your own checklist of pros and cons to be sure.

Are you considering canceling your home phone service to use Skype for all your local, long distance and international calling needs? Think again before you make this hasty move. Skype is a high-quality, VoIP service that offers very low-cost (or free) calling to and from your computer, but it doesn’t do everything your home phone service can do.

Skype Costs Less than Most Home Phone Service

One of the benefits to using Skype to replace your home phone service is the cost. You can use Skype to dial cell phones or home phones across the U.S., North America, or worldwide for low prices with Skype’s paid subscription plans. Skype’s paid subscription plans range in price from $2.99 to $13.99 a month, with a small one-time connection fee added to your total price. If you purchase a 12-month subscription, you’ll save 15% at checkout, according to the website.
Skype’s pay-as-you-go plan to call home phones or mobile numbers worldwide costs up to 2.1 cents per minute (depending on where you’re calling). Skype-to-Skype calling is always free.

What You Need for Skype

With any of Skype’s subscription plans, Skype-pay-as-you-go service, or Skype-to-Skype calling, you’ll need:

• A Windows or Mac computer

• An internet connection (broadband is best)

• A built-in or external webcam for video calls

• A headset with microphone (required) and earbuds or earphones (preferred) that plug into your computer

Drawbacks to Skype

As you can see, a home telephone is not on the list of equipment required for Skype. The audio on the calls will only be as good as your microphone and speakers—and anyone who’s used a computer microphone for teleconferencing knows there’s an art and science to using a microphone effectively.
Another drawback to using Skype for your calling needs is that the basic subscription or free plan leaves you tied to your computer. If you like to do housework, exercise, or do other things while you’re on the phone, this could cause a problem.

Additionally, when you’re running Skype, other programs and applications may slow down substantially (depending on your computer). Even multi-tasking at your computer during Skype phone calls could be a challenge.

If you share one family computer, and you need to make a phone call while someone else is on the computer—you are back to the same challenges people faced with telephone modem Internet connections. You can’t use the phone and computer at the same time. In the fast-paced life of most families, this isn’t acceptable.

Fortunately, Skype has devised a way around this with a way to use Skype from your home or cell phone with Skype to Go.

Replace Your Landline with Skype to Go? Not Quite

When you use Skype-to-go from your home phone, you pay your standard operator fee for a local phone call through your home phone service plan. You dial in to a Skype access number, and then place your long distance or international call—paying Skype’s low per-minute or subscription rates.

But, you still need home phone service to place the initial call to access Skype. Skype can offer substantial savings on long-distance and, especially, international calling, but it is not quite a viable alternative to paying for home phone service.

Another important point: Unlike conventional VoIP services, Skype cannot be used for emergency calling. The Skype website emphasizes, “Skype is a not replacement for your ordinary telephone.”

Save Money On Your Home Phone Service

If you are looking to save money on long distance and international calling by using Skype, you can certainly do so. First, shop through Allconnect to find the lowest prices on basic home telephone service and then use Skype-to-go with your home phone for long distance and international calls.

According to a morning press release, Bresnan Communications has been bought by Cablevision Systems Corp for just over $1 billion.

Using its enhanced fiber-optic network, Bresnan customers enjoyed digital TV, high speed Internet and home phone service throughout Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.  Cablevision President and CEO James L. Dolan spoke to Bresnan’s achievements by saying, “Bill Bresnan was a cable legend and was close to so many in the industry, including the Dolan family. The Bresnan team has built an impressive cable business that performs well financially, and we look forward to working to enhance those systems further.”

While mergers and acquisitions can be tricky, the future looks promising for Cablevision and Bresnan customers.  Tom Rutledge, Cablevision’s COO, is slated to oversee the Bresnan properties.   Sounding optimistic about the  acquisition, Rutledge states, “Bresnan is a well-managed company that has invested wisely in its operations and has pursued a strategy which is aligned and quite similar to Cablevision’s. We look forward to building on Bresnan’s record by pursuing among other things: broader deployment of digital voice; the addition of more high-definition television offerings; the expansion of our groundbreaking Triple Play offer; and, the rollout of new services that have already shown great promise.”

Recognizing the fact that the acquisition was only formally announced this morning, we’ll keep you informed of any upcoming changes for Bresnan Communications customers.

No one wants to be without a telephone for very long. Even if you already have a cell phone, having home phone service can make you feel more secure. With home phone service, people can always reach you regardless of cell phone reception or whether you remembered to charge your Bluetooth. You can also dial out for crystal clear reception every time.

When you move, your home phone service is one of the first things (along with electricity) you should consider turning on in your new home. Follow these tips to make ordering home phone service easy.

1. Decide on a phone carrier. Many regions have more than one home phone service provider. You may want to set up your home phone service through your cable company, or bundle your home phone service with your cable and/or internet. Use Allconnect.com to shop around for the best prices in your area.
2. Schedule a phone service install appointment. It could take 2 or 3 weeks to get an appointment, so decide on a carrier and order your service through Allconnect a few weeks before you move.
3. Plan to be home that day. Technicians may need to run new wires to connect your home phone service. Often, phone service providers offer a window of four hours that they may arrive. You may need to take a half-day from work or telecommute that day. Since you just moved in, you’ll find plenty to do while you wait for the service technicians to arrive. Make sure your phone is unpacked, so that you can test it before the technician leaves to avoid an additional appointment.

Teens love to talk. Many parents struggle to regulate their teenagers’ cell phone and text usage – teens can text in bed at night, surreptitiously in their rooms at any time of day, and parents may have no idea who they’re texting or why.

If you keep your home computer in a common area of the house, you can monitor (to some degree) your teenager’s social media and instant messaging activity. But there’s no better way to keep tabs on your teen’s social life than a home telephone. After all, you can find out just by answering the phone who she’s talking to, and when, and why.

Encourage your teenager to keep her cell phone for emergency use and use your home phone for social engagements. With features like call waiting on your home phone service, you don’t have to worry about missing an important call because your teen is on the line.

Some other tips for sharing home phone service with a teen:

• Set hours for phone use, or limit hours per day.
• Set up separate numbers on the same line, each with their own ring, so you can know who the phone is for. Most phone service providers offer this feature as part of a plan.
• Establish separate voice mail boxes (also available through many phone service plans) so you can retrieve your messages quickly and easily.

Thinking of switching home phone service providers?  Here’s what to ask before you buy home phone service. Once you’ve identified your phone service needs, use Allconnect.com to shop around for the best and most affordable phone service. Where do you call? Do you:

• Mostly make local calls?
• Frequently call out-of-state?
• Ever have a need to call internationally?
• Frequently make international calls?

What features do you need? Do you:

• Find call waiting a bother, or need to be reachable through call waiting at all times?
• Ever need three-way calling?
• Prefer or require an unlisted number?
• Want the ability to block anonymous calls?
• Want to send voice mails to your mobile phone or email?
• Prefer online bill pay options?

Other questions to ask: Do you:

• Need more than one phone line?
• Want to bundle your local and long distance under one carrier?
• Prefer VoIP (Voice Over IP) or conventional telephone service?
• Want to bundle your phone, cable and Internet with one provider to save money?

Finally, consider your budget for phone service, and then begin your search for the features you need at a price you can afford.

New options for home phone service - and new pricing from phone service providers—constantly becomes available in today’s competitive market.

Many people don’t think about shopping for home phone service—or cable and Internet service, for that matter—unless they are moving. But if you are not locked into a contract with your current phone service provider, now is a good time to shop around for a better rate on your home phone service.

You should compare rates from phone service providers at least once a year. Make it a habit to evaluate your home phone service budget when you renew you car insurance policy, pay your property tax bill, or take care of another annual task.

Before you begin comparing prices from phone service providers through Allconnect, make a list of your needs and wants in home phone service. Here are some features you may include on the list, depending on your family’s telephone use:

• Unlimited local and long-distance calling
• Distinctive ringtones for different members of your family
• Voice mail
• Caller ID
• Call waiting
• Three-way calling
• Additional phone lines

With this list in hand, you can compare prices easily through Allconnect.com. When you shop, keep in mind that you may be able to save money by bundling your home phone service with your cable television and broadband Internet access.

According to recent reports, 20 percent of all U.S. homes do not have home phone service, opting only for a cell phone. Many people have cut the cord on their landline service to cut costs in these hard economic times.

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if you still need your home phone service:

• Does your cell phone get flawless reception in every area of your home? If not, especially if you are the type of person accustomed to wandering while you talk, you may want to keep your home cordless phone and your home phone service.
• Does your phone have GPS tracking if you dial 911 so emergency responders can find you even if you are unable to talk?
• Do you remember to keep your phone charged and with you at all times? It happens—you forget your charger and wind up with a dead battery. If your cell phone is your only phone, you may be limited if it stops working.
• Do you frequently get dropped calls or loss of service? Even the best cell phone carriers drop calls occasionally—this can be a hassle if you’re used to the reliability of a land line.
• Do you ever go over your minutes or have to wait until nights or weekends to call someone? Again, you want the flexibility to make calls anytime, all the time, on your home phone. If you have to upgrade your minutes in order to use your cell phone exclusively, it might make better financial sense to keep your home phone service.

If you must cut communication costs, using your cell phone for long distance and signing up for a local phone service on your home phone might be one budget-friendly measure that maintains the reliability and convenience of a land-line.