Please hold: Verizon's $5 phone plan still up in the air
Filed under: Bargains, Budgets, Saving Money, Technology
Yesterday, reports about Verizon's $5 landline offer were popping up all over the Internet. I'm surprised the Google search for it didn't hit Denny's free breakfast offer numbers. I mean, $5 for landline service? Sweet deal.
Well, not yet.
The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story, noted that the $5 plan will be offered closer to summer. However, a Verizon executive, who asked to remain unnamed, stated that the third-party source providing information to the WSJ reporter made an error and there is no set time table for the roll-out of the plan.
The $5 service in question would allow for unlimited incoming calls and the ability to place a call to 911 and to Verizon's customer support line. The $10 service in consideration would also include unlimited outbound local calls. Both services are basic connection plans and exclude features such as call-wating, call-forwarding and caller ID. These plans, if introduced, would be offered to customers who live in areas where Verizon wireline services are offered: 25 states (plus Washington D.C.), or approximately 32 million households.
According to Kula, Verizon has seen a roughly 8% landline phone service loss every year, for the past five to eight years. The company hopes that by purchasing the basic telephone plans, customers would be motivated to order Verizon's high-speed Internet and digital entertainment services as well. Kula stresses that individuals do not have to subscribe to Verizon's wireless or broadband services in order to take advantage of the $5 and $10 plans, if they are introduced. Therefore, consumers, regardless of who your cable or cell phone providers are, you can purchase Verizon's voice plans with no hassle.
Landline phone vs. the cellular phone
Although it may be tempting to do away with the landline and sign up for an all-inclusive deal such as Sprint Nextel Corp.'s $149.99 unlimited nationwide calling, wireless Internet, text and data plan, note that landlines offer us benefits we often overlook. Remember the Northeast blackout of 2003? Well, if it weren't for my father's old kitchen handset phone (the off-white one, with the coiled 7-feet cord), which was plugged into his wall jack, I don't know when I would have found out that he was all right. That day, as I demon-dialed my relatives' cellular phones in New York (worried in Indiana that NYC experienced another terrorist attack), I could not get through. There were tremendous service disruptions, most likely caused by the high volume of calls. And last April, when his neighborhood north of Dallas was hit by a tornado and "cell phones were clogged," Kula says he was able to place calls with his landline phone when the power went out. A low degree of voltage (12 volts) travels over the public switched telephone network (with the exception of a cordless phone that requires electricity) and enables that line to stay working even when commercial power is out. Also, during emergencies, you're guaranteed someone will pinpoint your exact location if you dial 911 from a landline, which is not always the case with mobile phones as signals are sent through the air and the tower that picks up the signal may not be near.
But aside from offering us a peace of mind and an outlet for safety
during natural disasters and unexplained widespread power outages, landlines eliminate hassles of dropped calls and signal interruptions and ensure greater voice quality, not to mention increased security of communication (unless, of course, the FBI comes to your house to tap the phone).
Cell phones, however, are far more convenient and with increasing promotions for all-in-one packages, it's tempting to drop the landline and stay connected on the go only. After all, it is an additional expense and in today's economy, how many of us can afford monthly bills for something we rarely--if ever--use?
Of course, there's no right answer, but I--a worry wort who always ponders "What if?"--decided to keep my landline and although I don't use it as often as I do my cell phone, the knowledge that I can call wherever during a possible crisis is a definite bonus.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-18-2009 @ 10:06PM
Butcher said...
Sounds good, but are we looking at say $10 + fees = $30 ?
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2-20-2009 @ 9:20AM
cj said...
Sounds good but they were talking about natural disasters when hurricane ike came through the phone was the last thing to go back up all we could rely on was our cell's and that was after 3 days. Plus we needed cell phones to find food it took 3 of us to go to different stores and when we got there there was a limit so we would stock up call the other 2 then when they got their check out. I took 2 weeks before we got electricty, and 4 weeks for land line phones and cable is still out.
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2-20-2009 @ 9:20AM
dickv said...
I cancelled my landline phone five years ago when my local municipality ratcheted their "taxes and fees" to about $20.00 per month. Will this happen again?
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2-20-2009 @ 8:09AM
s.a.mason said...
will never give up my landline !! they will have to rip it out of my cold dead hands..hassle free and love it..
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2-20-2009 @ 9:47AM
lascandals said...
I hate cell phones. They're too damn small and the numbers are hard to see. And the author of this article is right. You lose signals a lot especially in places where they don't have too many towers and you always have to keep them charged up. The plans for cell phones might be a sweet deal now, but once they have everyone on cell phones they will jack up the prices. What wasn't mentioned, however, is a possible connection between cell phones use and brain tumors. The land line has always been reliable and the old fashion cord kind never gets lost. Most land lines use fiber optics underground so there's usually no problems in regard to them not working during bad weather or other natural or man made disasters, at least with the one's running the wires underground. Plus, you can pick up a little land line phone at most stores for under $10 to keep a spare in the event that the land line phone would break or stop working for some reason. From experience with cell phones, I prefer land lines over them any time.
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2-20-2009 @ 8:29AM
Chuck said...
When will this magnificent plan roll over to AT&T?
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2-20-2009 @ 8:59AM
Kathy said...
Hey Chuck - I've had that $5 phone with AT&T for about 2 years now - but after all the taxes and fees and such - it works out to about $13 a month. I love it. I don't have voicemail or caller ID or anything, but I never answer anyway. I just have it for DSL and for when the power goes out. I can make 25 calls a month and unlimited incoming. Long distance is like 7 cents a minute. I bought a cheap answering machine and anyone who calls will have to leave a message as it picks up on the 2nd ring. It was really handy during the election when the political call came in!
2-20-2009 @ 1:03PM
d2junk said...
ATT, my local carrier, already offers something very similar, at least in California. It's about $6 for "measured" service (limited # of local calls included), or about $11 with unlimited calls. The problem is, it is nearly impossible to find this basic service. Looking at their website, it makes you believe you HAVE to have a bundle of extra services like caller ID when you don't have to. They are excellent tricksters. Of course, taxes and other fees bring your total closer to $20 or $25, but till much cheaper if you don't get all those frivolous extras.
2-20-2009 @ 1:14PM
Rebecca said...
AT&T does offer a $21.00 a month service. saw it yesterday on thier website.
2-20-2009 @ 12:18PM
Fred said...
All go, until the massive spending spree was approved...now they don't quite need to offer $5 plans !! Like the bailout so far?
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2-20-2009 @ 10:00AM
Kathy said...
During Hurricane Ike my phone never went out but power did for 4 days. My cell couldn't get a signal but I could use my landline (You have to have a real land line phone, not a cordless), and get online with dial-up.
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2-20-2009 @ 9:57AM
EB said...
Is there a way to send and receive faxes with this setup. I would love to go all cellular but cannot figure out the “fax” problem.
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2-20-2009 @ 1:20PM
Glen said...
To EB, you can sign up to an internet fax service. That's provided that you have internet service and a scanner. That way you can send faxes via your scanner and receive faxes on your dedicated fax phone number that are then forwarded to your email address.
2-20-2009 @ 10:05AM
B.Morris said...
Verizon are unhonorable, liars whom have no comprehension of honesty or ethical business practices. They have 5000+ complaints listed on the Internet to date. They hide behind shady deals with public service commissions, no sign contracts abuse and greedy sales reps. whom say anything you want to hear for the contract. They do not honor their agreements and are untrustworthy. BEWARE !
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2-21-2009 @ 8:28AM
kathy said...
I LOVE Verizon - never had a problem with them at all. The one issue I ever had with them was when my husband went out of town for work, and the area that he was in, was that tiny speck on the coverage area where he was in "roaming" the whole time. I got a $400 phone bill! I called them and they let me break it up into payments. That was fine with me. They have always been nice and professional when I have dealt with them. Always go to an authorized Verizon dealer/store - never those little kiosks or other places
2-20-2009 @ 10:26AM
Donald said...
Everyone has valid points, but one of my friends found an answer that works out well. She has a land line, but also purchased a pay as you go cell phone at Target. Only costs about $6.00 a month and she only uses it for emergencies or for brief calls when she is away from her land line. She thinks it's the best of both worlds.
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2-20-2009 @ 10:54AM
John Marshall said...
Sure Verizon has problems and complaints - they're huge and have millions of customers - but note they consistently have the highest or 2nd highest customer satisfaction rates year after year as reported by independent sources including but not limited to CR. I've had Verizon service for roughly 15 years from back when I had a Verizon pager because cell phones were too expensive for me at the time - and have rarely had a complaint that wasn't resolved on the first call. Further, I have consistently found their customer service reps to be courteous and helpful - even on the rare occasion they were not able to completely answer my questions or resolve a situation to my hoped-for resolution.
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2-20-2009 @ 10:59AM
Chuck said...
I live in NY State. The local and state taxes and surcharges are higher than the monthly cost of any base landline which we abandoned many years ago. Even at $5 or $10. NY State and local will feast.
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2-20-2009 @ 11:16AM
Grant Blair said...
My son and I have used only cell phones for the last 5 years.
I cancelled mine when a telemarketer added a $50 charge to my monthly Sprint bill. When Sprint said they could do nothing about it, I had the phone disconnected the next day.
When my son moved, his home alarm company told him he had to put in a land line, but he disconnected the ringer after 2 weeks of constant telemarketer calls. He can call out, but no one can call in.
Verizon is offering this to protect their telemarketer revenue, not to help out consumers...you can bet on it!!!
2-20-2009 @ 11:26AM
Lewis said...
The Bailout ...boy all those CEO"S and senate and congress are thankful that it is working....not for AMERICANS but for them..Why you ask ..simple...for doing their part for making sure their pet companies got some cash well they will get their perks and jobs afer we kick them out of office....to screw us even more......Did you know by our elected officials doing some of these good things for their business friends, they got their realatives jobs that pay so very well and so much more...How do I know this ??? you see one of these senators or congressmen is a closet gay and the things he wrote down on paper truly amazing and goes back years and years and I'm sure it just find its way to the Washington Post..you be surprised how many Bank CEO"S are trying to keep their little secrets about fooling around on Momma and all their little freak side show deals....
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