My elderly parents maintain two residences, one in NY and another, which is the focus of my question in the Greater Phoenix AZ area (Apache Junction to be precise). Area code is 480, NXX is 982, LEC is Qwest.
More background -- My parents have gone completely wireless in NY. They have ported their NY number to the mobile and are happy with the results. However, they have many friends in the Phoenix area that would be put off by LD charges to call their NY mobile number. That said they feel and I agree that they need to keep their POTS line in Phoenix but don't want to spend a bundle on it since all outgoing calls will be on the mobile.
And so, finally on to the question, does anyone know if Qwest offers a real low cost (perhaps metered) service for POTS in the 480 area? Where I'm at (NY) the LEC is obligated to provide a minimal POTS service that allows a small number of outgoing calls and an unlimited number of inbound calls. The service was designed by regulators to provide a minimal service for pensioners and the otherwise disadvantaged that would not cannibalize other more functional rate plans. The Qwest web site is no help; it only talks about premium plans.