Why is porting numbers such an issue?

Point taken.

You too.

What would you do if the landline service was overloaded and you couldn't complete any calls? Or the local CO went off line? Or a backhoe took out all the phone lines in your area?

Partially true. However, it's worth noting the difference since there is no point petitioning the telco or a regulatory body to change a technical limitation. However, since the problem is administrative, it can be solved either by a regulatory body or the telco.

Interesting. Around here, if you call sales and tell them exactly what you want, they may try to upsell but they won't force the issue -- The cable company would rather sell something then nothing.

Then you need to be in touch with the marketing department of the telco and/or cable company.

For me, the cost/benefit ratio isn't worth it. I can walk to a neighbour's house and use a landline, or I can use my cell. The odds of both my cell service AND cable service going down at the same time is fairly low.

The chance of it happening at the same time as everyone in the house being unable to go to a neighbour's house is effectively zero.

Why would it get cut..? The odds of this happening are somewhat remote, particularly if the line is underground, rather than on a pole, as it is here. The odds are greater that the cellular system might be down, which is why I'd rather rely on POTS in an emergency.

Granted, the chances of POTS, cellular and VoIP *all* going down simultaneously are somewhat remote, and I admit I was playing devils advocate a little, but my point is don't rely on something new and/or high tech in an emergency, the old tried/trusted things like POTS are far more likely to survive problems. In over 30 years of living in this house, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I've lost either electricity or my POTS line. The local cellular base on the other hand goes up and down like a yoyo, and VoIP, while reliable for the most part, has been known to lock up if my router throws a wobbly..!

Happy New Year to all,

Ivor

Using the example you chose to cite in all probability you would have the same success trying to place your call on a land line phone - your

78 year old mother would still be on the floor while you were waiting for a dial tone on your POTS phone!

See my other post on this. In 30 years at this location my POTS line has been out of service maybe 3 or 4 times. The local cell, however, goes up and down like a yoyo.

Ivor

....and I've experienced a dead POTS line of over one day within the past year.

In our area we can make emergency calls using unsubscribed POTS lines. At least it appears that way for one of my friends who moved into a house and did not activate the landline.

--kyler

It seems somewhat timely that I just heard from a friend of mine who I'd given an SPA-2000. During the ice storm a few days ago a tree fell on some cables ripping the them from his house (and pulling down his power transformer). Another friend provided a generator and he's been using my VoIP account ever since. (His TV cable was not affected.)

He said that it's been interesting for his wife to explain that their phone line has been cut but they can be reached at a toll-free number.

Ah...the joys of VoIP...

--kyler

And everyone move to urban area? There are vast swaths of this country where cell service is marginal or non-existent.

Which country..?

Don't answer that, I know - but this is a global group and not everyone is in North America.

Ivor

When I visit relatives in Dallas I always have bars. I can't always get a signal but I always get bars. It's flat with a high population and so a reasonable number of towers gets me lots of coverage.

Here in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area of NC, there are LOTs of dead spots. Most in the built up areas are small but there are there. There a neighborhood in Chapel Hill where most of the residents can only use Alltel. It's dead to the rest of the carriers. And this is not a low rent district. This area is hilly, and the carriers just don't want to spend money to cover every low and/or hidden spot.

Pretend to sign up for service in zip 27601 and you'll see we have lots of open space on all of the carriers' maps.

In message of Tue, 8 Feb 2005, David Ross writes

Strange! I thought this country had 99% coverage - even in rural areas, let alone vast swaths of it. :-)

DF

Because the landline service in the USA is vastly superior to that in Europe, there's been less of an urgent need to try to cobble together a substitute in the form of cell service.

miguel

It's true, 99% of the population has cell coverage, but 70% of them live in or near metropolitan areas.

Once you depart from the beaten path there still are wide swaths of this country, out in the dingy-weeds, where there is no cellular coverage. I personally know of one such location, a mere 45 miles East of the heart of downtown Houston, TX and just 5 miles North of Interstate 10. Is this a rural area? Yes, very much so. There's also no Cable TV there nor is there any wireline DSL. The area is also sparsely populated.

David Ross skrev:

Hehe - interesting to read about this. It could have been Scandinavia, but 15 years ago.... Funny, when we travelled in Eastern Europe 15 years ago, we called THOSE coutries retro! When I called home from Florida last year, people thought I was joking when I said I hadn't returned their calls because I had to go into the city to get mobile connection.

Although we are a bit off-topic here - what is the reason for America's falling so far behind the rest of the western world when it comes to cell phones? Lack of standards?

Svein (Norway)

In message of Wed, 9 Feb 2005, Mitel Lurker writes

You guys just think you're the centre of the world, and every think revolves around the USA. Get a life - this is a global newsgroup.

DF

I don't understand your point in context. Are you suggesting that we not discuss cell coverage in the US because this is a global newsgroup? If that is not what you're suggesting, then what is your point? I don't see anything in the quoted text that would warrant such a response.

Thats like me saying that you english people bitch and moan about everything.

Then you must be blind as well as easily irritated. :) It's obvious that the thread had migrated to discussing the spotty cell coverage in the US. Unless, that is, someplace else in the world has locations named Raleigh, NC or Houston, TX.

Do you consider any mention of the US by an American to be arrogant? Do Americans need to start placing disclaimers at the beginning of posts so that those in the UK don't get their panties in a bunch over the mere mention of sites within the US?

It was more than apparent from the context that the US was being discussed.