Important Considerations Before Going Exclusively Cellular

The prospect of local number portability has many consumers thinking about dropping their home phone service and using only their cell phones. However there are serious pitfalls that should be considered before dumping the traditional landline. Helpful articles on how to evaluate the need for wired phone service and how to cut the cost of local and long distance services are available from Call Bird at CallBird.com

(PRWEB) November 14, 2003 -- Many consumers are looking at the new local number portability rules as an opportunity to drop their traditional wired landline" phone service in favor of using their cell phone for all of their local and long distance calling. While this might be the right move for some individuals, others may find themselves paying more for their personal communications instead of less.

Call Bird at CallBird.com has identified a number of important considerations that consumers should think about before making any changes to their current phone services. These include:

1. How much do you talk on the phone? You might find long personal conversations constrained by the strict number of minutes provided in most cellular phone packages. This is especially true if you have children entering their teen years and wanting to talk with their friends for hours on end. Cost penalties for exceeding your minutes limit are severe.

2. How many people use the phone? Will the entire family be trying to access the one phone that is clipped to your belt? Only one person at a time can use the cell phone. There are no extensions to pick up and join in the conversation. Do you use a speaker phone to participate in teleconferences or family holiday calls? Cell phones dont generally have this function available.

3. Does everyone have a cell phone? Are your children at home after school? How can they call for help in an emergency? How can you call home to check on them?

4. Does your home security system need the phone? Many systems call the monitoring service by phone line when a switch is triggered or when someone is incapacitated and pushes an emergency pendant button for help.

5. Emergency calls to 911 by landline are automatically identified to the address where the phone is located. This capability will not be generally available for cellular service for years. When calling 911 by cell phone, you need to be able to tell the emergency dispatcher your exact location.

6. How do you access the Internet? Cable modem service doesnt require a phone line, but all dial-up Internet services do. Weigh the cost and advantages of broadband and check availability before eliminating home phone service.

7. Does your satellite receiver or digital video recorder need a phone line connection to update schedules or order pay per view movies?

8. FAX machines, including the popular new all-in-one printer/copier/FAX units require a telephone line for the FAX function to send or receive.

Many consumers do not realize that there are cost savings options, such as competitive local and long distance services, that can make it possible to afford the advantages of both landline and wireless phone services. Negotiating with the local phone company and comparing prices online for long distance and Internet services may result in dramatic cost savings. Interstate long distance service is available at less than 4 cents per minute anytime with no monthly fees. Unlimited dial-up Internet access starts at under $10 a month.

An online rate calculator such as the one found at CallBird.com can make it easy to compare the offers from many low cost long distance companies. The lowest cost plan for each consumer depends on location and number of minutes per month used for in-state and state to state calls. International calling patterns also affect selection of the best long distance provider.

Additional Information:

The information in this press release is excerpted from:

Why You Still Need a Landline" at http://www.callbird.com/landline.html

Landlines For Less" at http://www.callbird.com/landlinesforless.html

About Call Bird

CallBird.com provides consumers and news services with free informational articles on how to select telephone and Internet services for better value. CallBird.com is a service of LongDistanceRateFinder.com, which offers a wide variety of business and residential telecommunication services online. Call Bird can be found at http://www.CallBird.com/

CONTACT INFORMATION:

John Shepler

Call Bird

1-888-252-3735

http://www.callbird.com

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