You need to make a call and your cell phone crashed!!

Has this ever happened to you?  Last week I upgraded my iphone to the 12.  To set up my new phone I had to pair it with my old one.  Both phones locked up and were unusable for several hours.  I did not have a working landline.  I asked myself what would happen if I had a real emergency.?  

Have you recently moved or tried to set up land line service? Do you know that most major phone carriers do not offer simple phone service.  Particularly on Cape Cod the phone carriers try to upsell you a package that combines internet, cable and phone service.  Sometimes you only need the phone.

This past summer we opted out of an expensive bundling package with Comcast because we had duplicate service at both a primary and second home.  We learned that we could reduce our expenses at the second home by simply installing high speed internet service to stream from our primary home.  With this efficiency, however, came the cost of discontinuing our landline.  As I tried to set up my new phone a few days ago, I realized I was unable to call Apple support since I did not have a landline.

I now recognize the importance of having a dedicated landline for emergencies such as cell service not working.  There are times when the internet can be down and although I recently added a Google voice line on my laptop this would not be useful in such a situation. I am in the process and ordering service from a company called Community Phone.   

This company was started by the founder whose own grandmother needed a landline and instead was sold an expensive bundled package that she could not afford.  This is a common occurrence for many individuals.  

As an SRES Realtor I often work with seniors who are rightsizing to a new home or apartment.  Often they do not have a need for high speed internet or a cable package.  These are expensive and may not be practical particularly for those on a limited budget.   Now that I have become familiar with Community Phone I will now advise them about this service.  I honestly believe all home residents should have a dedicated installed landline for emergency call use.  I am looking forward to the installation of my new phone and will share an update once it is installed.  

Wendy is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Needham.  She enjoys coffee, walking her dog, theater/arts, reading, writing, travel and meeting new people.  She always welcomes the opportunity to have a virtual coffee now that we are amidst the “new normal”.  Check out her website at www.wendybcb.com or her FB page @wendybcb as she posts up to date content to meet the ever changing marketplace.