Long distance land line options?

[Deleted member 4644]

My mom has Verizon as her local carrier in a major metro area in California.

She wants to be able to call about 2 mid range numbers (about 30 miles away) that have the same area code but are not "local" (I think).

One of the two numbers is a cell phone.

What are her best options if she still wants to use a land line?

How does Verizon treat cellphones? Is it based on the area code or the location of the phone when the call comes in?

She wants to spend $20 or less a month if possible.

 

[Pepsei]

landline is overpriced.

verizon landline treates cell or landline on the other end the same.

maybe you should get magicjack.

 

[GeekDrew]

Cell phone billing, for the remote party, is always based on the telephone number assigned, not the physical location of the cell phone.

Some carriers offer plans that permit "extended local calling", which extends the local calling area further than it normally would -- and usually charge a few dollars per month on top of the usual bill for that service. If that option isn't available, finding the least expensive long distance carrier is the next best bet.

She might consider an IP phone (through some carrier such as MagicJack) if that would be an acceptable alternative (and her internet connection could sustain the necessary traffic).

 

[kalrith]

I use MagicJack with a 3 MBps DSL connection, and it works fine. The only time it doesn't is when I'm downloading something using the full speed of the connection. Therefore, I limit my downloads to about two-thirds of their max speed.

The quality isn't perfect, but 95% of the time it is. The other 5% of the time it might be hard to hear the other person or vice versa, but it's worth it for me to pay $20/year instead of $20/month.

 

[Bryophyte]

Pick up a long distance card from Costco. Last I checked, it was priced at around 2 cents a minute. You can talk for-fucking-ever on a twenty dollar card to anyone in the US and the rates for calling out of the country are good.

 

[TXHokie]

I picked up Ooma (www.ooma.com) at Fry's for $170 last year and dumped my Verizon landline that had no long distance either. Ported my old number to the ooma device. Pretty much have recouped my initial cost and it's been free phone service since with free long distance. No computer needed like MajicJack.

 

[kalrith]

I picked up Ooma (www.ooma.com) at Fry's for $170 last year and dumped my Verizon landline that had no long distance either. Ported my old number to the ooma device. Pretty much have recouped my initial cost and it's been free phone service since with free long distance. No computer needed like MajicJack.

Yeah, that it one negative requirement for MagicJack (although some people have allegedly gotten it to work without a computer). It's a moot point for me since I leave my HTPC on 24/7 anyways, but I know this would be a big factor to some people, esp. if you're only PC is quite power hungry. I specifically built my HTPC to sip power, and it idles under 50W.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Get a Skype subscription for $2.95/month, then setup your Skype To Go number. When your mother wants to call her friends, she'll dial the Skype To Go number (from any phone), then the friends number, and the call is free.

 

[bobdole369]

I would think a phone card or a 10-10 service is best here. Even skype out.