Family Safety Tips

National Access Long Distance presents Family Safety Tips!

Have a Plan

• Make sure your family has a plan for every type of emergency.
• Create mapped out scenarios and routes for each room of the house.
• Pick a meeting area for once the house is evacuated.
• Provide each family member with their own plan.

Build a Kit

• Create different kits for all different emergencies.  
• Research which emergencies are most common in your region and what would be needed for these.
• For hints and tips, visit www.redcross.org.

Suggestions to Include:

• Water
• Food
• Flashlight
• Candle
• Batteries
• First Aid Kit
• Tool Kit
• Hygiene Items
• Cell Phone and Chargers
• Radio
• Contact Information for Family Members
• Blankets, Pillows
• Map
• Cash

Stay Informed

• Make sure you are aware of weather during different seasons.
• Create a community or neighborhood weather watch so everyone is aware of emergencies.
• Download an app that alerts you of an emergency in your area.

Invest in a Landline

• Corded landlines work without power.
• When cell phone towers are jammed during emergencies, landlines are still able to make and take phone calls.
• Landlines give exact locations to the 911 dispatcher to increase accuracy and response time.

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.  

The Address of Your Emergency

No one is ever in a great position to deal with the dreaded and horrid inconveniences of an emergency. These sudden unforeseen crises (usually involving danger) require immediate action. During a time of emergency you would not want to trust to an unreliable source of help.  Cell phone or VOIP services are unreliable and not the phone you want to be using when there is any sort of emergency.

When an emergency occurs, you are full of panic, possibly unable to answer the questions the dispatcher is asking.  The question regarding your location comes up, do you know where you are?  What house are you at?  If it’s your own, you can probably provide it with little thought.  However, what if you are at your sibling’s or your child is the one on the phone because you are hurt.  A landline provides the address to the dispatcher, no need for the questions, they send help.

If you call 911 with a cell phone they find your location by using the cell towers and GPS services.  This can be inaccurate and timely, during a time when every second counts. If you live in an apartment complex, this impairs the accuracy even more with location of an area and not which floor.  While the emergency button on your cell phone is great, it only speeds up the process so much.

The emergency 911 services were created to save our lives and get us help; this process was made around the landline.  Cell phones came along much later and they are still refining this process.  Don’t let your emergency be part of the learning process; keep your loved ones safe with a landline.

Now when you are out on the road, the only option you have is the cell phone and in that situation it is a great to have that technology to assist you. But from the house or the office, why entrust your life or welfare to the parameters of technology for the sake of a so-called convenience?

Landlines are also easier to operate in the event of an emergency, especially for kids and senior citizens. Sure cost can be the biggest issue, but really can you put a price on your well-being? Besides, there are ways to help decrease current landline costs. To save money on the long distance portion of your landline phone, contact National Access Long Distance.

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.

The Reliable and Dependable Phone

It seems like no matter how some things can change, others will always stay the same.  The need for a home landline has gotten away from some, while others still see it as a staple in their house. 

Many find it as a great way to keep personal and business away from every other company or place that needs a phone number along with other information.  Others find it as a great way to see if their children got home from school safely. 

It proves to be great for visitors, if their cell phone doesn’t have reception at your household, they can still contact people without using your personal phone.  Many don’t like others using their personal phone, where notes, contacts and photos are stored.  It’s also nice to know they won’t use your limited minutes.

Your home phone is also a more reliable solution for your telephone needs.  In an emergency the landline gives a security that cell phones do not provide.  When calling 911 with your landline, the correct address automatically shows up.  No need to worry if the visitors know the address or if you can’t communicate at the time. 

The technology with landlines has also advanced and provides many extensions.  This gives every member of the family access and even access out by the pool or in the basement.

The landline is reliable and dependable.  Keep it affordable with long distance from National Access Long Distance.

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! 

Landline as a backup phone...

What is one of the biggest and most important reasons to carry a landline? It is for the reliability to make 911 emergency calls. This is important in any household.  Cell phones cannot compete with the dependability of a landline for at home emergencies. With the ease of use for children and seniors, reliability in power outages and ability to get emergency responders quickly are all reasons the landline is the best_­ option to have in the home.

The landline isn’t just great for a family phone; it is also there to make emergency calls even if the power goes out. Cell phones are no good once their battery power is out. Unlike cell phones you will not lose or misplace a corded phone that is your dedicated landline. Also when you call 911 on a landline it gives the dispatcher your exact location instead of general area, which will make it a lot quicker to get responders to your aid.  Having a landline for this reason alone shows its importance.  Another great reason to have the landline as your emergency home phone is its ease of use for children and seniors.  With the advanced technology of cell phones it can make them more complicated for seniors and small children to use. A landline can remain basic and easier for seniors and children to make an emergency call if needed.

All around the landline phone is the best choice to make an emergency call.  Even if you already have a cell phone and love it, it is still wise to keep a landline in the home for back up if nothing more than for emergencies. To save money on your landline long distance contact National Access Long Distance.

Everybody's Parachute!

Keeping your landline makes sure every family member or visitor is safely grounded.   With a landline you have a "go to resource” when a natural disaster or emergency occurs.  

Landlines have secure power, are easy to locate and usually aren't silent. Consider this:

• Landlines are never incapable of making a call due to cell tower volumes which can be compromised during power outages or civic emergencies.  
• You know exactly where your phone is every time you really need it. Imagine if someone was breaking into your house and you couldn't find your cell phone?
• Have you ever tried looking for your cell phone when it's changed to silent mode? Unless you remember exactly where you left it, you could be searching for hours. But not with a landline; it won’t slip under the couch pillow when on silent.

With a family phone, signal strength is never an issue. For some people, reception can be poor even in their own home. Sometimes you don't find this out until you switch carriers and then you are stuck with a spotty service or static on the line. But have you ever heard of that happening with a landline.

Many people in your home need to depend on a landline. Be it a visitor without a cell phone, a child or grandma, your landline has you covered - just like a parachute.