Business line

[Luddite]

Have noticed several recent service outages for people with business lines, or wanting "guaranteed" service. I have previously noted some options here but have just realized the following should be as dependable as a regular landline and is inexpensive. To wit:

1. acquire Fongo home service for $4.95/month plus (about) $50 for the ATA which plugs into your internet router, and into which one plugs a landline phone.

2. port your "must have service number" to Fongo ($25) 

3. get a new Public Mobile number with the plan you wish

4. forward Fongo to the Public Mobile number

Here's the advantages as I see them:

- Fongo service should be as dependable as a landline (best is a DSL line as it's buried deeper than cable)

- if Public Mobile service is down you can still get calls on your "business/Fongo" landline

- in a power failure I think the forwarding will still go to your cell phone

Disadvantages:

- you'll lose your current PM plan when the number is ported to Fongo (allow 2 weeks)

- $75 up front plus $4.95/month cost

An alternative to step 1. (saving the $75 up front plus $4.95/month) would be a second phone with Fongo installed and used with your home wifi.

[neilselden]

@srlawren,

True - it is not a lot if it's for regular use.

Initially, I was looking for a way to abstract my voice and SMS/MMS service entirely - I wanted to go pure data just for portability's sake.  But I did not find a free (personal requirement ) solution.  So I decided to just get a Public Mobile LD package and deal with the TextNow ads whenever I travel out of country.

Cheers,

Neil

[srlawren]

@neilselden if you need a second line for whatever reason, $3/month is a lot chepaer than activating a second mobile provider account.  [And assuming you don't have a dual-SIM phone, it also removes the need to carry two devices.]

[neilselden]

@srlawren,

Yes there is.  $2.99/month or @$29.99/year.

I personally find that to be a lot as a recurring charge.  However, it does remove the ads and hold your phone number, even if it goes unused for a long period of time.  As a free user, you must use your TextNow # to call or message every so often.

Cheers,

Neil

[srlawren]

Interesting discussion, @Luddite and @neilselden.  Neil, out of curiosity, is there a premium option for TextNow to make it ad-free?  If so, it might be worth the small investment to some.  

[neilselden]

Hi,

This is a very good idea, @Luddite.

I've used Fongo for my home phone for about a year now, and I've never had any problems with it.  The setup was as simple as plugging everything in.  I've also used Fongo on my cellphone as a backup (which makes it dependent on WiFi or data of course), and I can also say that it works very well.    Once nice feature about Fongo is that if you login into Fongo on the web using your PC, you can also use your PC as a phone.

However, I have a personal preference for a different VoIP solution - TextNow.  Downside is that it is ad supported, which I really do find annoying.  The advantages are that it supports MMS and TextNow includes free calling to US and Canada.  As with Fongo, TextNow lets you login via the web, and then to use your PC as a phone.

Cheers,

Neil