vB Easy Archive - Having backup, no landline

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Having backup, no landline
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Posted by: spurkcell

With VZW and recently dropped landline. As a second very cheap line ($6-7/mo), have bought a $40 Cingular prepaid wireless phone (only available at their website) which only have to refill with $20 every 90 days (gives you 80 minutes at .25/min) to keep your number and unused minutes carry over as long as refill. It is good 'insurance' especially for a 911 type of emergency, you never know with a cell phone:

- your carrier decides to perform maintenance on your local cell tower and you have little usuable signal (has happened very occassionally).
- you let your phone battery run dry as you forgot to charge it.
- your phone breaks, run over with truck, or simply dies. Funny personal experience, got phone back from repair, and was it not until late eve when realized they forgot to hook up the mic when they replaced the antenna. I could hear who was calling, but they couldn't hear me.

I looked at VOIP as a backup, and said nah. With PC viruses, etc. opening ports on your firewall to get it to work opens yourself to a dangerous computer security situation unless you are very PC knowing and know what you are doing.

Also having a second cell, with a different carrier, often gives you additional coverage if you really need it, when traveling in a weak signal area with one carrier but not another in the boonies where so often travel.