Confusion about cell phones, landline and Internet

[WootWoot]

Hello--I've been reading some of MMM's posts on Republic Wireless and the recent one on Google Fi. I'm kind of confused.

Currently, I am paying about $131 a month to Verizon for a landline, two cell phones (not smartphones) and Internet that is pretty darned slow, even though it's supposed to be DSL. My spouse has talked about ditching the landline and getting our local basic cable package so that we can get faster Internet.

The idea of dropping a landline makes me nervous. I really can't say why, except that I'm in my 50s and am part of the generation who grew up with nothing BUT a landline. I have no intention of getting a smartphone, mostly because whenever I check with Verizon, they want s/thing like $30 extra a month PLUS the cost of the phone.

Am I paying too much for what I have? Do you think the switching-to-cable scenario works? (We don't really intend to watch much on cable; we rely on DVDs and Netflix for entertainment). Would Republic or Google Fi or Ting be better than Verizon?

[Cwadda]

inb4 IP Daley

Have a look at this!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/communications-tech-discussion-thread-1/

[Daley]

Here, read this: Daley’s Frugal Communications Guide

It'll answer all your questions you have, and then some. It'll also put you at a place of understanding with home phone lines, VoIP, cheaper mobile services, Republic Wireless (don't), and Google Fi (also don't). There's a lot more and a lot better out there for the money than the stuff MMM has specifically written about. I've covered a great deal of it over the years for this community.

Any questions after that, ask. I'll either point you to other stuff I've covered here or just recap for you.

[Daley]

inb4 IP Daley

Only by 39 seconds. :p

[WootWoot]

Thanks! Appreciate the help!

[redbird]

I'm in my early 30's, and I also grew up with nothing but a landline. Cellphones are still more recent. I actually had a landline even as an adult, up until 7 years ago. The reason I switched to only cellphone is, after doing research, I found that the cheapest landline service actually cost MORE than the cheapest cellphone service. I don't know what landline service costs nowadays, but at the time the cheapest service I could get was $20/month ($240/year). I pay $100 for an entire year's worth of service on my phone. But I don't use the phone much, so that's why I can get away with such cheap service.

You don't need to pay for TV service to get cable internet, though you might want to look into packages that do include TV. I have some cable channels because the particular deal the cable company had cost more for internet by itself than internet + some TV. You need to compare pricing. Also keep in mind that the promotional deals' pricing tends to only last for about a year. Then the price goes up. Read the fine print. The particular package I have I would not have gotten if I was planning to live here long term. But since I only plan to live here for about a year, then it's cheaper for me to go for that package.

Also keep in mind that for cable internet, you really should look into buying your own cable modem to save money. The cable companies will charge you a monthly rental fee to use their cable modem. It will only take you maybe 7-8 months' worth of service to break even with the cost of buying your own cable modem vs the rental fees, and then every month after that you're better off.

You will probably be better off if you drop the landline and have cellphone + cable internet only. What you should sign up for really depends on your needs.

I can't say anything about Republic, Google Fi, or Ting. I have no experience with them. My phone service is a pre-paid, no frills service with Verizon. I pay for $100 worth of credit to be put on my account once per year and I never use all of the credit. You can't pay for less than $100 because the expiration times makes it not worth it. The $100 credit lasts for a whole year. The smaller amounts of credit, if I remember, only last 90 days. My service works very well for me, but I would not suggest it for anyone who uses the phone a lot.

[Cwadda]

Here, read this: Daley’s Frugal Communications Guide

It'll answer all your questions you have, and then some. It'll also put you at a place of understanding with home phone lines, VoIP, cheaper mobile services, Republic Wireless (don't), and Google Fi (also don't). There's a lot more and a lot better out there for the money than the stuff MMM has specifically written about. I've covered a great deal of it over the years for this community.

Any questions after that, ask. I'll either point you to other stuff I've covered here or just recap for you.

Just wanted to let you know when I tried opening the link it was broken.

Edit: nvm, it works!

[Heywood57]

We had 20+ years of contact info associated with our original landline
for schools,work,banks,medical,etc and didn't want to lose that when we cancelled
the landline service so we transferred the number to MagicJack.

Similar for Google Voice.

[WootWoot]

Thanks, all! Our Internet is really quite slow for DSL. Verizon has no interest in our small town, so no chance of FIOS or anything improving soon. I'm going to call the cable company and see what their current rates are.