Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?
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PX Eliezer @ 3rd Nov 11:28PM:
Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

It is estimated that about 1.7 million T-Mobile users were affected by a massive outage this evening.

»www.pcworld.com/article/181363/n···ion.html

Many of the younger generation feel comfortable with cellphones alone, having neither POTS nor VoIP.

Perhaps some will re-examine the wisdom of that.

Among the 3 major types of phone service (POTS, VoIP, Cellular) it may be impractical for some customers to have all three.

But surely to have two is better than just to rely on one.
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prestonlewis @ 4th Nov 12:04AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

#1 in my family = cell phones (total of 7 phones for everyone except the 10yo)

#2 is VOIP = MJ (kids computer) and netTALK (bedroom/homeOffice)

My cell phone was stolen today at work and I've been using netTALK all evening for my calls. Nary a problem. Yet, I felt some relief after going to Radio Shack and getting a replacement cell phone and getting it activated. VOIP is nice, saves money, convenient but it just isn't as reliable or comfortable as a nice HOT cell phone.
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dcm @ 4th Nov 12:22AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by prestonlewis :

My cell phone was stolen today at work ...

VOIP is nice, saves money, convenient but it just isn't as reliable or comfortable as a nice HOT cell phone.
When was the last time someone posted that their ATA was stolen? :D

I personally like the convenience and comfort (and cost) of a "landline" (VoIP). No need to charge the ATA or cordless phone. :)
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N9MD @ 4th Nov 12:30AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by PX Eliezer :

Many of the younger generation feel comfortable with cellphones alone, having neither POTS nor VoIP.

Perhaps some will re-examine the wisdom of that.
I doubt that a re-examination is in the cards! The under 21 crowd rarely uses fixed phone lines (PSTN and VoIP). In fact, as I've learned from my high school teacher wife (now retired for the past year) and from my four grandchildren (age 8 to 13, all of whom have the latest fancy full-featured cell phones), the young'uns of today don't even have voice conversations ... they "text" constantly, non-stop ... using shorthand & symbols & abbreviations & purposeful misspellings, thereby accounting for the worst writing and language skills we've ever seen.

FACT: When home phones ring, it's never for "the kids".

The major factor favoring Cell Phones (and similar Mobile Communications) is the ability to be on the go and yet be reachable wherever one is. And add to that the ability to use the internet, listen to downloaded music, etc., etc.

Frankly, my wife and I probably use our cell phones for 95% of our calling, even when in the house. Indeed, while we were side-by-side in our bed one evening ... me watching TV and my wife reading ... I actually had the chutzpah to call my wife's cell from my cell, to ask her for the TV remote. Needless to say, I got a DeNozo for that one. [Reference to the TV series NCIS.]
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nonymous @ 4th Nov 02:29AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

ave to remember that one. My wife uses text messaging to answer coworkers questions at work when she is home. Might just try calling her to interrupt it. Its work but sometimes with gossip thrown in. Either way I would not be a happy camper after she got thru with me.
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Lenagainster @ 4th Nov 05:55AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

How often does power go out, compared to how often cellular service goes down?

Power out, backup battery dies, VoIP dead. Cordless phones don't work. POTS and a corded phone is all that's left if the storm hasn't knocked down the lines.

So pay through the nose for featureless POTS with all the outrageous taxes and fees for the "security" of it, or take a chance that cellular outages are a rarity. Keep a car charger handy so the cell can be recharged if power is out for several days.
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usa2k @ 4th Nov 08:25AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by N9MD :

Needless to say, I got a DeNozo for that one. [Reference to the TV series NCIS.]
:) My favorite!

I rarely use either. The wife gravitates to the cell, even at home.
VoIP provides way better call filtering, and as such, it is the best call screener ever!

My cells have been contract free since February. I am reluctant to have a new service to be tied to. (Even though the battery has become unreliable in mine!)

Ultimately I want a cell company to use all my VOIPo features. Perhaps one day cell companies will catch up. Until then, both are very useful.

BTW my kids are very Text Centric too!
(Who needs voice in that generation?)
--

Jim, VoIP 12/2002, VOIPo 2/2007
FAH-Tool~Pets~Join Artist-24
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Lenagainster @ 4th Nov 09:47AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by usa2k :

Ultimately I want a cell company to use all my VOIPo features.
Incoming calls >>>>> Google Voice (filters) >>>>> your cell...
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pandora @ 4th Nov 11:05AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

There have been VOIP outages at almost all providers, anytime a customer has an internet outage VOIP also goes down. For the vast majority, when there is a power failure, VOIP goes down as well.

I use Sprint, if Sprint went down, my phones would just roam on Verizon. If both Sprint and Verizon are down at the same time, we have probably suffered a nuclear attack. :) VOIP won't help with that.
--
"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use."
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ropeguru @ 4th Nov 11:08AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by PX Eliezer :

It is estimated that about 1.7 million T-Mobile users were affected by a massive outage this evening.

»www.pcworld.com/article/181363/n···ion.html

Many of the younger generation feel comfortable with cellphones alone, having neither POTS nor VoIP.

Perhaps some will re-examine the wisdom of that.

Among the 3 major types of phone service (POTS, VoIP, Cellular) it may be impractical for some customers to have all three.

But surely to have two is better than just to rely on one.
For me, two types is just what I would need.

1. Cellular for my main everyday use

2. PAYGO VoIP for when the cellular goes out

This isn't ideal as your incoming number will still be down as the cellular carriers still want to be asses about forwarding calls to other numbers.
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burgerwars @ 4th Nov 11:17AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by pandora :

There have been VOIP outages at almost all providers, anytime a customer has an internet outage VOIP also goes down. For the vast majority, when there is a power failure, VOIP goes down as well.

I use Sprint, if Sprint went down, my phones would just roam on Verizon. If both Sprint and Verizon are down at the same time, we have probably suffered a nuclear attack. :) VOIP won't help with that.
Which leads me to wonder what service is best if the sun explodes? ;)
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dcm @ 4th Nov 11:22AM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by burgerwars :

Which leads me to wonder what service is best if the sun explodes? ;)
Without a doubt ... SunRocket. :D
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DaveSin @ 4th Nov 12:06PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by Lenagainster :

said by usa2k :

Ultimately I want a cell company to use all my VOIPo features.
Incoming calls >>>>> Google Voice (filters) >>>>> your cell...
I use this approach and it works great!!!
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kieranmullen @ 4th Nov 12:49PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

Ebay for batteries and ebay & craigslist for used cell phones. I have had good luck that route.

said by usa2k
My cells have been contract free since February. I am reluctant to have a new service to be tied to. (Even though the battery has become unreliable in mine!)
[/BQUOTE :

--
KieranMullen »360oregon.com

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neftv @ 4th Nov 01:01PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by usa2k :

Ultimately I want a cell company to use all my VOIPo features. Perhaps one day cell companies will catch up. Until then, both are very useful.

BTW my kids are very Text Centric too!
(Who needs voice in that generation?)
I think cell phone companies have enough work keeping "the network" working let alone adding more back-end phone features (which would be nice). I agree on your last comment too because most people (kids included) I come in contact with love to Text on their phones more so than talking. I am finding that many times nobody likes to talk to each other anymore it's either text or email so probably thats another reason Cell phones don't have much in the way of back-end phone features too. They rather offer progressive live communication than old school.

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neftv @ 4th Nov 01:09PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

To answer that question it's tricky but the short answer is no.

There is no point to Voip in a mobile environment if "the network" is down your wifi phone is down too. You would have to go to Panara Bread or Border's or home to use it.
I would have to agree that two services are necessary if you REALLY need to have Cell phone and Voip for home (as long as pricing does not catch up to pots line because it shouldn't being there is less infrastructure for Voip).
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VR Laura @ 4th Nov 04:02PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by pandora :

There have been VOIP outages at almost all providers, anytime a customer has an internet outage VOIP also goes down.
I'm in NYC and one of my friends has VoIP. (Not sure if it's Time Warner Cable or Verizon.) She says it goes out a lot.

I was curious as to what happens if you call someone who has VoIP when their service is down. I was at her apartment recently and it went down, so as a test I tried to call her home phone from my mobile. It didn't go to voicemail. I got the recording that the call couldn't go through. Wow. I wonder if people know that? People can't even leave messages! That could be disasterous for a business, or if someone has kids!

Edit: Fwiw, besides having a mobile I have 2 landlines. 1 is for voice, the other DSL/fax. And in my closet I've got a 40-yr-old touchtone phone that doesn't need electricity. Some office was moving and throwing it out, so I took it! ;) I call it my "blackout" phone, lol.

--
»www.queenofcyberspace.com/usenet
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dcm @ 4th Nov 04:18PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by VR Laura :

I was curious as to what happens if you call someone who has VoIP when their service is down. I was at her apartment recently and it went down, so as a test I tried to call her home phone from my mobile. It didn't go to voicemail. I got the recording that the call couldn't go through. Wow. I wonder if people know that? People can't even leave messages! That could be disasterous for a business, or if someone has kids!
Most "good" VoIP providers have some type of failover ... either to voicemail or a number that you choose.

Some providers default to voicemail, but some require you the setup your failover choice. Maybe she did not set up failover?
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dcm @ 4th Nov 04:23PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by usa2k :

My cells have been contract free since February. I am reluctant to have a new service to be tied to. (Even though the battery has become unreliable in mine!)
Off topic, but ... if you have AT&T or T-Mobile, you can go to Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc. and buy a prepaid phone. Remove your SIM card from your old phone and put it in the new one. You will need to re-enter your contacts if you don't have them saved to the SIM card.

If you have Sprint, you're out of luck. If you have Verizon, it's YMMV if you can put a prepaid phone on a postpaid plan (via ESN change).
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usa2k @ 4th Nov 05:22PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by dcm :

If you have Sprint, you're out of luck. If you have Verizon, it's YMMV if you can put a prepaid phone on a postpaid plan (via ESN change).
Currently Sprint - converted from Nextel
The local Wireless Toyz can get a battery for $40. (LG Fusic)
--

Jim, VoIP 12/2002, VOIPo 2/2007
FAH-Tool~Pets~Join Artist-24
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trev @ 4th Nov 06:05PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

said by VR Laura :

I was curious as to what happens if you call someone who has VoIP when their service is down. I was at her apartment recently and it went down, so as a test I tried to call her home phone from my mobile. It didn't go to voicemail. I got the recording that the call couldn't go through. Wow. I wonder if people know that? People can't even leave messages!
This is not a problem with VoIP, it's a problem with the provider. It seems here, Shaw's digital phone acts the same way. Although the exact recording was "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again, or dial your Telus operator for assistance." Where Telus is the ILEC in my neighbourhood.

I discovered this one night when I was trying to order fish and chips and was surprised to find that my local shop had gone out of business. I called another location and they confirmed that the number was right but they had no power and thus their phone was down. Totally unacceptable for a business-class digital telephone service!
--
Wondering what I do? Find out at »www.digitalcon.ca
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userofdsl @ 5th Nov 01:31PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

I don't know about a rare cellular outage, but here is something that may give a boost to VoIP:

»www.ewg.org/cellphone-radiation

You can click "continue without signing up" on the bottom to see the info.
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usa2k @ 5th Nov 04:01PM:
Re: Does cellular outage give a boost to VoIP?

Another thought I had. Because of cell service, I had no other reservations in dumping POTS for VoIP. I do not know if I would otherwise have tested the VoIP waters 8 years ago?

I did keep POTS a whole month extra.


--

Jim, VoIP 12/2002, VOIPo 2/2007
FAH-Tool~Pets~Join Artist-24
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