I'll piggyback on this and note that in at least some places, such as where I live, landlines cannot be obtained anymore - what you get is a cell modem in a box that you plug a normal handset into. For either case, however, both actual landlines and these cell-modem-in-a-box-"lines" cost far more (as in 2-4x) than a basic prepaid* cellphone plan in my area. I've heard from others in very different regions that this is also the case for them as well. The higher tiers of prepaid plans offer unlimited minutes and often a modest amount of data if you care for it. Compared to anybody with a landline of either kind in my area, I'm paying less than half what they are per month and could pay even less than that if I went for an even more no-frills plan without data of any kind.
So, don't think that landlines are at all frugal in all areas - in some areas and countries they're a terrible deal compared to prepaid cellular.
* Note, I'm specifically talking about prepaid cellular - as in what poor people get, not postpaid contract-based plans. Check with the various cellphone providers in your area - you often have to do quite some digging on their website to find the various prepaid offers they have available. Some are hidden behind small fine-print links. They can be confusing (and often intentionally are) - but a little bit of careful calculation will show you what each of them will cost comparatively. If your phone is an important and often used instrument of communication, I highly suggest plans with unlimited nationwide minutes at the very least so you have no surprises with per-minute usage. Check the terms carefully for rollover, balance expiration, and things like that, but you can get shockingly good deals on phone service this way if you're willing to put a little effort in.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
Re: Cell Phones
Date: 2024-11-23 09:08 pm (UTC)I'll piggyback on this and note that in at least some places, such as where I live, landlines cannot be obtained anymore - what you get is a cell modem in a box that you plug a normal handset into. For either case, however, both actual landlines and these cell-modem-in-a-box-"lines" cost far more (as in 2-4x) than a basic prepaid* cellphone plan in my area. I've heard from others in very different regions that this is also the case for them as well. The higher tiers of prepaid plans offer unlimited minutes and often a modest amount of data if you care for it. Compared to anybody with a landline of either kind in my area, I'm paying less than half what they are per month and could pay even less than that if I went for an even more no-frills plan without data of any kind.
So, don't think that landlines are at all frugal in all areas - in some areas and countries they're a terrible deal compared to prepaid cellular.
* Note, I'm specifically talking about prepaid cellular - as in what poor people get, not postpaid contract-based plans. Check with the various cellphone providers in your area - you often have to do quite some digging on their website to find the various prepaid offers they have available. Some are hidden behind small fine-print links. They can be confusing (and often intentionally are) - but a little bit of careful calculation will show you what each of them will cost comparatively. If your phone is an important and often used instrument of communication, I highly suggest plans with unlimited nationwide minutes at the very least so you have no surprises with per-minute usage. Check the terms carefully for rollover, balance expiration, and things like that, but you can get shockingly good deals on phone service this way if you're willing to put a little effort in.