Your Dependable Landline

            Sixty-four percent of American households keep their landlines because of trust. We trust our landlines to be reliable, secure and safe.

            Based on electrical principals and often time piggy-backed with electrical delivery systems that reach every home and business, landlines are infinitely more reliable than their mobile counterparts. Even better, landlines continue to work even if the power goes out because they are hardwired into the grid. This is again the opposite of their cellphone counterparts. Hard wiring also ensures a clearer, crisper signal.

            All over the news lately, we find government agencies, mass-collecting cellphone data. The NSA may not be interested in the business you conduct, but there is no protection from government intrusion because cellphone conversations are radio signals and are not considered by most states or the federal government as private and secure. Is this what you want?  Do you feel comfortable for your conversations to be listened in on without your knowledge or permission? The question may be asked, what can I do to stop this or can the government really do this legally and get away with it? To keep eavesdropping at minimum, keep your landline.

            Landlines also add a layer of safety to our lives. In case of emergency, landlines interact more effectively with 911 operations than cellphones. Locations of an accident or medical emergency are more precise with landlines, saving time and lives.

            We trust our landlines to be reliable and secure and to keep us safe. This is why the landline will continue to be a lasting part of American society. If you want to trust what millions have trusted since 1877, and save money on your long distance bill, contact National Access Long Distance.

The Insurance Line

            No one chooses to be a victim of a natural disaster or other emergency situation. We can, however, plan to minimize our exposure. We try to prepare with backup plans and emergency safety kits.  We purchase insurance for our house, belongings and cars.  Houses are built with rooms for different natural disasters.  But we can’t prepare for everything.

A part of the preparation that can be forgotten is ensuring our landlines remain intact. The landline provides an insurance line.  When people are cutting off their landline service and purchasing insurance on every electronic device, they are forgetting that the landline is an insurance protection plan for their lives.

            Landlines are generally more effective than cellphones in emergencies. They are familiar to older household members and their use can be taught to younger children with ease. Landlines do not go down when the power goes out. Not all cellphone providers have E911 that directs your calls to a local response center; your call for help may be sent to a regional center for routing, costing precious moments.

            In May, 2013, the central region of Oklahoma experienced severe thunderstorms, flooding, and several devastating tornadoes. Large swaths of land were ruined by nature’s raw power. Directly affected cellphone towers were incapacitated and the sudden influx of calls for help jammed the remaining ones.  That and local emergency responders and the civilian leadership scrambled to find landlines to coordinate their efforts. Human lives hung in the balance.

            This is but one set of incidents of many. Citizens in the large cities and smaller remote areas of the country are already well aware of the importance of maintain a landline in case of an emergency. Despite increasing acceptance of wireless as the primary telephone, many people not living immediately in the very large metropolitan area maintain a landline as their lifeline.

            If disaster struck, would you be prepared?

            Keep your landline as your insurance plan and contact National Access Long Distance to save money on your long distance services.  

Your Family Wants Their Home Phone Back!

Could there be anything more important than the safety and security of our families.  Many would say nothing is more important and a landline is a way of providing protection.  With a landline home phone, the household is provided with not only stability, but a reliable way to contact people. 

Landlines are capable of working in times of crisis, like when the power goes out, or a natural disaster.  The home phone can work without power and does not rely on cell phone towers or radio waves.  When cell phone towers jam, trust your landline to get the call done.

Your family’s safety may not seem to depend on the landline, but when your family is at home, the landline is the more reliable option.  A cell phone is great for the road, for your teenager to contact you when over at a friend’s house.  However, what about when you want to check and make sure they are safe at home?  The responsibility of a cell phone for your children may be a larger one than you anticipated.  If they forget the cell phone at school and take the bus home, how are you able to know they have safely arrived?

In the occurrence of an emergency where the caller is unable to communicate, the 9-1-1 operator is still capable of sending emergency response service providers to the emergency location.  When dialing 9-1-1 from a landline, the system automatically reports the phone number and the address to a 9-1-1 dispatcher and the information is relayed to the emergency response team to ensure the quickest response time.  This is an important subject to take into consideration when making a decision that could affect ones family and household.  Many who live in condos or apartments face the added problem of the 9-1-1 response teams only locating the building, they cannot tell the exact number of the apartment or condo.

Some argue, cellular phones are cheaper and a more effective way to reach out, however what happens if there is an emergency where the caller must stay silent.  The landline allows the caller to be located without any assistance or speaking. However, if calling with a cell phone the emergency operator requires an address for fast response time.  At best, the 9-1-1 operator may receive a call back number and possible coordinates.

The average cost of having and maintaining a land line home phone, is around $25 a month for most families, what a small cost for the added protection.

Protect yourself and your loved ones with a landline.  Contact National Access Long Distance for affordable long distance services.

Top Ten Reasons for Having a Land Line Phone

You know every time the topic landline comes up it is usually met with thoughts of but it’s not as convenient as my cell phone.  Contrary to popular belief, there are benefits to having one. So here are 10 solid reasons to maintain a landline phone:

1. Works Better for 911 services: When you call from a landline, it will automatically go to an enhanced center. This proves to be important when you or the person cannot speak. The landline also will allow the dispatcher to have an accurate address whereas the cell phone only gives a general area.

2. Its Stationary: It's based in your home so you’re not going to misplace it. It is not going to be stolen nor will you leave it at the restaurant or office. It's usually centrally located and multiple lines can be throughout the house for easy access.

3. Better Connection: You get the clearest and most stable calls on a landline with better volume, especially if you use a corded phone. 

4. Security: Landlines ensure more security when doing phone business like banking or social security issues?

5. Easier to use: Since a landline phone only makes calls, it makes it a lot easier to operate. This proves to be handy for emergencies with children making the call. It also makes it easier for elderly people to see and operate.

6. Natural Disasters:  Cell towers are subject to the weather more than anything. Even an ice storm can affect its ability to function.  It is true that landlines are subject to weather, especially tornados; service crews for landlines have a much quicker response time.

7. Reliability: Even though many will use cordless phones as their landlines. You still can always have one outlet with a corded phone in case the battery dies, you can go to the speaker phone on the base of most cordless phones.

8. Value: There is no need for insurance, no data plans or over use charges. No extra accessories like covers, extra chargers, screen covers, etc. is required to extend the phones life either.

9. Power: There are no worries when the power is out because the landline phone will still be working in most instances. The local landline carrier provides local emergency backup systems. No need to worry about batteries and chargers.

10. Lower Cost: Landline phones are amazingly more affordable than most cell phones. There’s never a roaming charge. This comes in pretty handy when you have a whole family using the same phone making hours of calls a day.

So regardless if you talk a little or if you are a blabber mouth, the landline can provide an all-around cost effective option and security for all of your talking needs. Please think about this list before you consider discarding your landline. And if you want keep you landline cost low by saving more money on your long distance service, contact National Access Long Distance.

Did you know about your landline?

A landline provides security that a cell phone doesn't have.  One of the ways is the 911 service that is especially useful if you live in an apartment (dorms count too).  Check out this video on the ways that landlines come in handy! 

E9-1-1: Can You Trust It?

            Most people do not know the differences between 911 and E911 (Enhanced 911), and just how important some of those differences are.  In fact, while E911 services carry some obvious benefits, consumers who are concerned about safety should consider maintaining a landline telephone service, for the safety of their families.

            Basic 911 services, in terms of a landline, usually means that when an emergency call is made, the system automatically reports the telephone number and location to a 911 operator, serves as a dispatcher. A phone call made to 911 with a landline is extremely reliable and accurate with location.  However, what about 911 for cellphones?  Basic 911 services in this case could result in one of three ways: the 911 center gets no information, it only gets the cellphone's number, or the center gets the call back number and coordinates with a POSSIBLE location.  This last one is the least likely, which is where E911 comes in.          

             E9-1-1 services are utilized by cellphone companies and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) phone services.  This service is meant to rectify the problems caused by basic 911.  With E911, the consumer's billing address is stored in a database so that when an emergency call is placed, that call is automatically routed to the emergency center that corresponds with that location and the information is displayed on the dispatcher's screen.  This means that if the call is incomplete, disconnected or if the caller cannot speak, then emergency services still has a location to go to.

            While E911 answers some of the issues raised by wireless communications and emergency services, there are, in fact, still a number of problems.  The addresses stored as the consumer's location must be updated any time that customer moves, changes their number or adds numbers, otherwise, emergency services may go to the wrong location.  Furthermore, in the case of VOIP services that require broadband connections to operate, if the power is out or the broadband connection is down, then no 911 services are available.  The same holds true if your Internet service gets cut off due to any type of technical difficulties. Obviously, E911 services are far from perfect and may not be available in times of an emergency.  For this reason everyone should seriously consider maintaining a landline for the safety of their families.  If you want to save money on your long distance service, contact National Access Long Distance.