# Long distance landline phone services?



## zannej (Jul 28, 2014)

I don't know if there really is a proper section for this, so I'm asking here. I live out in the woods where cellphone reception is shoddy and I have to play the "can you hear me now?" game and a lot of the time people just can't hear me or I can't hear them. 

We used to have a long distance plan that was like 3.5cents a minute or somesuch but it would only call out of the area code or within my town. Any numbers within the same area code could not be called. That service ended up adding a monthly fee in addition to the cost per minute so we dumped it.

We are currently trying to find a good long distance landline plan that is inexpensive and will let us call within our area code as well as out of state. We are open to one that has a low monthly fee and does not charge per minute or one with no monthly fee and a low charge per minute.

When I was searching I saw something called "Opex Value 2.5" that claims to charge 2.5cents/min. It says it offers in-state and state-to-state, but I don't know if it does within the same area code. Has anyone heard of this service? Is it good or bad? Does it let people call within the area code?

Or are there other services available that people know of?

When looking for plans we kept seeing ones that required internet for long distance, but our internet is satellite so its worse than using a cellphone because of the upload delay.

so, any suggestions?


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 28, 2014)

I suspect that the FTC has fallen victim to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture
so read the fine print and

watch out for small print that looks like a contract but is not really and

ask if the entire contract that you are signing up for is available by e-mail rather than being on public view in some city distant to you (this is what nailed me on long term care; I paid for the more expensive fixed premium but page 23 of the contract available for viewing in Philadelphia clearly stated that I am still not immune to premium increases and so my premium went up.  And I cancelled.  
Apparently any lawyer knew this).

The book on Long Term Care by Nolo Press is invaluable for listing the many ways that contracts of any kind can be gotten around.


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## slownsteady (Jul 28, 2014)

I used to use Matrix Telecom (I think they've changed their name now) They were okay for a while, but the same thing happened...they started charging a monthly fee which more than doubled our long distance bill. They also continued to bill after we discontinued service. They hope that it will go undetected in the phone bill. Fortunately, cell service is good here, so we haven't needed another long distance carrier.


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## havasu (Jul 28, 2014)

Have you tried MagicJack?


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## nealtw (Jul 28, 2014)

Majicjack works good if you have good interweb connection. They hook up to the nearest big city so locals have to call long distence but you get to call anywhere in the world for free.


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## oldognewtrick (Jul 28, 2014)

We dumped the land line and I have to admitt, I haven't missed it. The only calls we got were her mom and telemarketers....yep.  

Won't be long and land lines will be like drive-in movies.


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## havasu (Jul 28, 2014)

My son was invented at a Drive In movie. :banana:


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## nealtw (Jul 28, 2014)

havasu said:


> My son was invented at a Drive In movie. :banana:



invented or prototyped?


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## slownsteady (Jul 28, 2014)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlG84nn_kYc&index=17&list=PL6DF7C21A97D330E8[/ame]


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## nealtw (Jul 28, 2014)

3 people fit in the trunk of a 58 chevy.


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## havasu (Jul 29, 2014)

We also packed the trunk. Shortly afterwards, they changed to a price per carload, probably because of idiots like us.


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## nealtw (Jul 29, 2014)

The movie was running anyway and we always bought burgers.

We have a new one built here about 6 years ago, I haven't herd of anyone going to it.


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 29, 2014)

There are probably boosters that improve cell phone communication.  
At the high frequencies that cell phones use, a small directional antenna high off the ground may work but you'd need interface circuitry and maybe a two-way wideband RF amplifier.  
This might available in kit form.  Do some searches, e.g.,
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q="improve+cell+phone"+range+kit&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

To pick the right setup you need to know how weak your signal is for your location.  Cell phone companies know this but the trick is to somehow get the info.  IIRC, signal strength is expressed in dBm.


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## zannej (Jul 29, 2014)

I've actually had an amplifier for my cellphone but it didn't work.

MagicJack won't work because we have satellite internet. We actually have a micro-celltower that routes our phones inside the house through the internet, but the upload delay is horrible and I often get echoing and delays that makes it hard to communicate.

We just need something without the upload delay that works through the landline.


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 30, 2014)

How far away is the nearest landline?


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## Chris (Jul 30, 2014)

I haven't used my landline in a couple years but I keep paying for it.


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## zannej (Jul 30, 2014)

Wuzzat? said:


> How far away is the nearest landline?



I'm not sure what you mean. I have a landline at my house. That is my primary phone service. But it doesn't have long distance so I can't call out of state or out of the town I'm in. I can only make local calls.

I'm looking for a plan that uses my landline to be able to call within my area code as well as in the rest of the state and out-of-state but that is inexpensive. Either a low flat fee without extra fees for minutes OR just low cost per minute that doesn't have a flat fee in addition.

But it has to cover within my area code. In the past I was able to call within the state and out of state, but not in the same area code. So I could call like 337 area code but not 318.


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## Wuzzat? (Jul 30, 2014)

OK, gotcha'.


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## slownsteady (Jul 30, 2014)

I should have added that in the rare cases that I need to dial long distance a-la landline, i just let the phone company handle it. No extra service fees, no third party billing and the rate, after all this time, is pretty competitive - especially when you don't have to worry about a monthly fee.


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## zannej (Jul 31, 2014)

My phone company charges something ludicrous like 10cents per minute in addition to a monthly fee.


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## havasu (Jul 31, 2014)

Wow. I haven't heard of a phone company still charging people by the minute since the '70's.


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## MaryAguila (Aug 14, 2014)

I vote for MagicJack!


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## zannej (Aug 16, 2014)

MaryAguila, MagicJack requires internet connection and that's not an option for me since I have satellite internet which has a 2 second upload delay. It would also use my satellite's bandwidth and every Kb counts.


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## slownsteady (Aug 16, 2014)

Zannej: what do you do for TV reception? If you have cable or fiber, there may be an option to get phone signals thru that route (sort of like FIOS....sort of).


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## zannej (Aug 20, 2014)

slownsteady, I have DishNetwork for TV. Our reception even with antenna was really bad for regular TV.  I'm in a rural area in a forest. I'm just on the other side of a "wildlife management area". No paved roads for about 7 miles, no snail mail delivery, and no trash pickup at my house. I have to drive my trash out about a half a mile and hope that they actually pick it up so there is space to put more out (but they don't do pickups on weeks with rain-- so no pickup this week because it rained yesterday).

No cable or fiber. My phonelines barely work. They aren't even good enough to get dialup internet. Trying to get through to AT&T about landlines nowadays is a total nightmare-- took me over an hour last time.

We joke that you'll hear banjos if you come out to these parts-- sadly, I don't think anyone around here is musically inclined. 

Our cellphone reception is very spotty even though there is an AT&T tower about 10 miles away. The nearest towers for sprint and other services are much farther. Tried a signal amp and antenna but it didn't work.


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## slownsteady (Aug 20, 2014)

Sounds like a great spot to get off the grid...unfortunately, in this case, you want to be on it. I was about to joke with you about getting a banjo until I got to that part of your last post. Oh well, there is always _that_ option.

At this point, I would think that the tallest antenna mast you can find, combined with the most sensitive receiver/amp you can afford is your only option. Maybe even a bigger dish.

You might even want to repost this question on an electronics or AV forum.


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## zannej (Aug 20, 2014)

Since getting people to actually come out here is a problem, I don't think getting a larger dish installed is an option.

I've actually looked in to ways to convert a dish to boost cellphone reception, but it looked a bit too complicated. Plus the main vulnerability with satellite is the weather. My internet was just out for about an hour because of the rain. If it only rained once-in-awhile it wouldn't be so bad, but it rains a LOT around here.


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## nealtw (Aug 21, 2014)

Years ago we had a service where you dialed up a local number and then dial the number you want to call , all for a better rate and it worked well.
It was much like this one.
http://www.g3telecom.com/long-distance/frequent-ask-questions#feature


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## Reipoh2ohg (Aug 22, 2014)

First of all, if you have a good Internet connection I would absolutely recommend Majicjack. It really worked a lot better than I thought it would and one of my friends even connected her business onto it, so you know it works well enough to where even professional calls are coming in.


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## nealtw (Aug 22, 2014)

Reipoh2ohg said:


> First of all, if you have a good Internet connection I would absolutely recommend Majicjack. It really worked a lot better than I thought it would and one of my friends even connected her business onto it, so you know it works well enough to where even professional calls are coming in.



That has been discussed and no he dosn't.


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## zannej (Aug 24, 2014)

Thanks, neal. I'll have to look in to the calling the local number thing first. I wish that AT&T didn't have such hefty fees for their long distance, but what they want to charge is ridiculous.


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## Jungle (Aug 24, 2014)

I've got a virtual number from virtufon $5.99 and unlimited skype for $3.99 a month. Pretty sure it's the best deal around.

http://www.flynumber.com/


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## zannej (Aug 27, 2014)

Jungle, it looks like its still VOIP (Voice Over *Internet* Protocol). Or am I missing something?

How does it work?


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## nealtw (Aug 27, 2014)

Have alook at this.  http://www.1010phonerates.com/dial_around_faq.html


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## zannej (Aug 27, 2014)

Thanks, I'll look into that. and hooray for the + key to make the text bigger. That page has some small text.


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## slownsteady (Aug 27, 2014)

remember: the big type giveth and the small type taketh away. Amen.


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## Drywallinfo (Aug 28, 2014)

Not sure about your cell phone, but I know for an old cell phone I had it was possible to set up an antenna on your rooftop and then connect the phone to the antenna. I would think one could now even boost reception with a wireless setup. 10 cents per minute in this day is pretty crazy - they do it because they can.


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## Chris (Aug 28, 2014)

Just saw a commercial for ooma. Might want to look into it.

Ooma.com


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## zannej (Aug 29, 2014)

I've found that when I tried to use cellphone boosters/antennae it interfered with the signal for my routers or just didn't work.

I'll check out ooma. Thanks, Chris.

Edit: It uses "your highspeed internet". :-(
Talked to someone in their chat and was told that I need to have cable, dsl, or fiber and they will "not let (me) use the service if (I) will only have bad quality service".


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## slownsteady (Aug 29, 2014)

I know this thread started with a question about long distance service. But it has evolved into a list of services that are lacking in your area. It brings to mind how my cable company was formed (not my company, but my service provider); a farmer in PA was disappointed with his tv reception, so he put up a big antenna and distributed the signal to his neighbors -for a price. Legend has it that this was the first cable company. I never checked the story but it sounds plausible.
So you have a  landline that comes to your house. On telephone poles? Do you have neighbors? How far back down the road does the line run before it branches? 
I don't know exactly where this post is going, but I'm thinking you may be able to bring something down the same path if you can distribute the costs with others.....


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## zannej (Aug 30, 2014)

slownsteady, I believe that my phonelines run underground, although there is a "box" down the road just across the street from the nearest neighbor. I caught my neighbor tampering with it before and after that my phonelines were so bad I couldn't get dialup. Phone company did not give a rat's *** when I told them about it either.

The nearest neighbor is about 1/2 mile away.. next nearest is a mile away.. It's spread pretty far apart out here and we're out in a forest -- part of which belongs to a timber company.

The closest neighbors are criminals and I want absolutely nothing to do with them. There are only a handful of people out here, which is why the US Postal Services won't deliver (they say there aren't enough people to warrant wasting the time and gas to come all the way out here). Even if there were more people out here, I still couldn't trust most of the ones that are out here to actually pay. They would probably actually try to hook themselves up to stuff illegally (like they were doing with the phoneline box when I caught them).

I do appreciate the suggestion though.


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## mudmixer (Aug 30, 2014)

I have not had a land line in at least 15 years. Before that, I was stubborn and wasted money on a cell phone AND line line until I finally learned.

I carry it with me always and my wife does the same. We even use it for daily calls from upstairs to downstairs. (no intercom necessary) - Family plan and it is great and a predictable cost.

I know of very few people that still have a LL.

Long distance is not a problem and international calls are fast and cheap - the only problem is when you call someone in Europe or Russia at 9:00 PM and do not shift gears in your head and wonder why the other person is upset when you wake them up in the middle of their night.

I traveled internationally and our company would issue a cell phone to make communications easier and more economical because the European and Japanese phone systems were more advanced.

A fax is a thing of the past, but there are easy ways around the hindrance.

Dick


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## zannej (Sep 1, 2014)

Yeah, I have crap signal on my cellphone and it constantly drops calls. It won't work inside the house without a micro-cell tower but that only works when the internet is working and since our internet is satellite, there is an upload delay and sometimes its impossible to communicate because stuff gets cut out and it just is a total pain.

Even when I stand outside on the porch to get signal, its still pretty weak. Tried the amplifier and antenna (as I mentioned before) and it didn't work at all.

I still like having a landline-- especially when the power goes out and a tree is down on the road so we are stranded and the only way to get through is the landline because cell reception has gone to crap.

I did have a problem a few years back when hurricane Rita hit. Lost power and had a tree down over the road on top of the powerlines. The phonelines were working during and after the storm but then they cut out. When I finally got in touch with the phone company it turns out that they turned my lines off deliberately because they claimed they wanted to limit usage so that the lines were not clogged up for people in areas where they really needed the lines.

I was pretty livid and I explained that at that time I lived out in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal (because back then I had zero cell signal at the house) with two senior citizens who had health problems that meant they needed the phone in case of a medical emergency. They told me I might get my lines turned back on in 2 or 3 weeks. I told them I was going to be reporting their asses to multiple agencies. They hung up on me and within a couple of days they turned my lines back on.


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## nealtw (Sep 1, 2014)

Check with your local phone company on a wats line, for most of us that's a 1-800 number but some companies here offer thing like 30 mins of calls to a certain exchange for resonable rate. I used that when I had a partner in another town, they charged my $4, a month and my bill went down by about $30. a month


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## zannej (Sep 2, 2014)

a wats line?

I'll have to see. The only thing I can get is AT&T. They bought the lines from Bell South.


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## nealtw (Sep 2, 2014)

I found this for AT&T dosn't look good.
http://www.att.com/Common/att_rev1/files/regulatory/nvgb1001.pdf


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## nealtw (Sep 2, 2014)

http://www.att.com/gen/landing-pages?pid=10933


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## zannej (Sep 2, 2014)

Thanks. I asked AT&T about it and they said they don't have that type of service for U-verse (which is what they call their landlines now). They gave me a link but its not loading for me.
Yick. 

I checked out your second link. Yick. $25 a month...


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## nealtw (Sep 2, 2014)

A string and two cans??


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## zannej (Sep 2, 2014)

Well, the good news is that when I asked on Twitter about the WATS line, I was invited to send a DM to customer service. They called me on the landline to discuss the options and were surprised at how crappy our current plan is. We currently pay nearly $50 for a single line. I forget what the base price is but they added stuff on for the caller ID and other crap. Apparently they have a plan that is all inclusive that has all of the features we pay extra for and it has unlimited long distance and the whole thing is $45. Unfortunately the office to call and set it up in our area was closed already so we'll have to try tomorrow.

He said something about charging per minute had not been done in quite awhile. We were trying to look up the plan he mentioned, but our internet went out.


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## nealtw (Sep 3, 2014)

The bottom line is without compitition they are all ruthless. I had bills like that until the cable company offered a phone too. Now it is $29 including local long distance and anywhere in North America for $.04 a minute. Before that we also had a another company for long distance for $.07 but I don't know if that's available for you. Watch out if this knew deal requires a contract that usually means something is about to change and they want to lock you in for so many years.


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## nealtw (Sep 3, 2014)

Found them, here is a list of long distance servers
http://www.longdistanceus.com/long-distance.html


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## zannej (Sep 3, 2014)

Thanks, neal. They said it would be about $45 per month but I saw an article online about a discount if the customer had another AT&T service-- such as a cellular plan, but you have to ask specifically about the plans to get any discounts. The article was from 2013 so I don't know if they have the same offer. I'm having a bit of trouble finding current info on the plans and any discounts. The price for the online version said it is $46.

They didn't give us a phone number so now I need to find the appropriate phone number for landline services. He said to call and ask about retention something or other.. its written down....


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## zannej (Mar 18, 2016)

As an update, I did something where I bundled my cellular and landline and right now neither of them are working.
Please excuse the following gripe-fest.
The recent flooding covered the box with the lines to my area. It was briefly fixed yesterday but then it stopped working again when there was no more rain. Now, this has happened in the past and when I finally got an answer from AT&T they explained that they shut my service off to allow more bandwidth for customers in larger areas. Because I'm in a rural area and there are only 9 customers affected, they think it justifies cutting off the service of paying customers who have never missed or been late on a payment ever. My mother is elderly, diabetic, and has mobility issues. She also needs to sleep with a CPAP. Cellular service out here is spotty. If our power goes out, we have no running water. There have been times in the past where a tree fell on our powerlines and blocked the road so we were stranded. If not for our landline, we would have had no way to contact anyone for help. So, when I called AT&T to complain last night, my cell service died. I can't text or call anyone. I have no phone service at all. I tweeted and they gave me some "thank you for your patience" line of BS. I'm pretty sure the landline service was just switched off again like they did in the past because there is no other reason for my landline to be out. Today when I was trying to contact people, my internet went out.
I suspect that it is actually illegal for them to cut my service off.
Does anyone know?
Who do I contact to report them for this? It is really starting to piss me off. If I had another option for landline service, I would find another company, but AT&T has a monopoly here. Magicjack and internet phone service are not options. The guy who came to try to repair the lines a few days ago had to drive 10 miles back into town to be able to get enough signal to call AT&T.


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## nealtw (Mar 18, 2016)

The knot is loose in your tin


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## slownsteady (Mar 18, 2016)

I would be shopping for a new cellular company. And if the service is good; hasta la vista, AT&T.


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## havasu (Mar 19, 2016)

My land line is a Straight Talk. It uses wireless phone technology, on your home based phone. Cost me $15 a month for calls anywhere in the US.


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## slownsteady (Mar 19, 2016)

The problem is, if the physical landline isn't good, then all the calling plans in the world can't help. And it sounds like that is a big part of the problem here. Your cell phone is basically a radio and cell towers are just big antennas. if you can see a cell tower, find out whose service is on it and get that company.


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## Snoonyb (Mar 19, 2016)

Who's on 1st?


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## zannej (Mar 20, 2016)

The only company that has a celltower within 30 miles of me is AT&T-- their tower is 10 miles away. As of Thursday there has been no signal at all at my house. I don't know what went wrong.

Oh, and get this, AT&T contacted me on Twitter in a private message to ask for my cellphone number so they can call me. Nevermind I have given them the number 5 times and all they have to do is scroll back to see it.

All they do is thank me for contacting them and thank me for my patience. I have lost my patience. If it was still flooded and if my phone hadn't come back on and worked fine for a couple of hours on Thursday, I wouldn't be this pissed off. I threatened to report them to the BBB and the Louisiana Public Service Commission if they don't resolve this quickly. 

I'm locked in to a two-year contract for cellular but there are no other services that work here anyway.

I hope they invent something soon that will allow for more reliable service without costing an arm and a leg.

I really wish I had another option for landline service. I would ditch AT&T in a hearbeat.


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## slownsteady (Mar 20, 2016)

There's got to be a booster of some kind that you can put on your roof.


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## havasu (Mar 20, 2016)

I complained to Verizon about my sucky cell phone service at my old house. I told them either to fix my problem or I was dropping their service, which I've had since 1987. Verizon installed a power booster the very next day and didn't charge me the $250 they normally charge.


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## frodo (Mar 21, 2016)

Zanne......IF,  they actully said they stopped your service so others could have service in more populated areas

then IN MY OPINION,  they have violated their contract.

if they violated their contract.  then legally,    you are NOT under contract any more and can move on to another service.

IF your Provider CAN NOT provide you service...YOU are under no OBLIGATION to stay with said company


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## zannej (Mar 21, 2016)

They admitted that about my landline service, not cellular. But they refused to admit it in writing. I'm on month-to-month with landline. However, I told them that I didn't buy their BS excuses and was going to report them to the LPSC and BBB and lo and behold I saw the AT&T van out on the road with the technician at the box turning the switch back on-- oh, and my cellular signal is back now.
Next step is to call the billing department and demand reimbursement for my lack of service and the trouble I had to go through to get service back. I had family members worried sick because they were calling and nobody was answering. Plus, I couldn't communicate well with the car dealership & insurance company about important things.


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