Telecommunications

While both services allow you to make local and long distance phone calls using just your home telephone, there are some differences you’ll want to consider before making your final decision on which type to go with for your home phone line. Both have pros and cons, so it will ultimately be up to you which will work out best for you and your family’s needs.

Landline phone service

This is just your typical run of the mill telephone service. The same kind your grandparents used, and probably still use. Most elderly people are comfortable with landline, because they’ve always used it, and they like to stick with what they know works. Landlines are generally thought of as the regular old phone service where you just plug the phone cord into the wall jack, but these days you can even do that with some digital phone services.

Digital Phone Service

This is a marketing tactic used by cable operators to get around the idea of using Internet telephone, or VoIP. Digital, after all sounds much safer, and the not so tech savvy are more inclined to use it. Digital phone is in fact just VoIP (voice over IP). It uses your Internet connection to send and receive phone calls, but you don’t need a computer, or even any software. Just a regular home phone will do. This is a point cable providers have had a hard time getting across.

Benefits of Landline Phone

In two words; Old reliable. One time tested benefit that make consumers decide to keep their landline is its reliability. If your electricity goes out, your landline will still be able to make and receive phone calls. Rememer the blackout of 2003? Cell phones didn’t work, and neither did digital phone. The only way you could make a call was through a landline. Another benefit is 911 service. Even if you don’t have phone service you can still call 911 in some states. This is known as a soft dial tone.

Benefits of Digital Phone

The reason more and more people are signing up for digital phone service is more often than not, price. It’s cheap. Dirt cheap, in fact. One way to spot a digital phone provider is their use of the word voice when describing the product. If it says voice, it’s digital. With voice plans you’ll often get unlimited local and long distance calling at a flat rate, and for a fraction of the cost you might get from a landline provider. You’ll also get triple the calling features like call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, and voice mail for no extra cost.

Choosing a Plan

It mainly comes down to cost versus reliability. If you need cheap phone service, and aren’t too worried about your power going out you may be a candidate for a digital line. On the other hand, if you need to rely on services such as 911 in an emergency, and don’t want to worry about whether or not your phone is going to work when you need to make that call, a landline may be worth a little extra cost to have that security. There are ways to save on landline though. Bundling for example, but that’s another article.

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