Mrs Danvers

I have realized over the past year or so that the only reason I have a landline is so my parents can call me cheaply. I'd really like to get rid of it.

My mother won't do Skype. She wants to call a number from her landline and rabbit on to me once a week like she has since 1940-something.

I know I can use a calling card on a cell phone and call her cheaply. The problem is her being able to call my US cell phone. She says this is expensive for her. I'm not sure if there is any truth to this, but anyway, if anyone has any answers please help.

Bink

My Mum uses a number that she dials first that makes it cheap, whether she calls my cell phone or not. She also has some deal on her mobile phone that gives her so many free international minutes too. I'll try and find out what service she uses but I'm sure there are plenty of them.

Make sure nothing else is tied into your landline... I got so fed up with paying for a landline I didn't use I disconnected it and thought nothing of it until my alarm company phoned me on my cell to inform me of a problem with getting a connection to my line... What a muppet...!

Lucybell33

We have Sky Talk Anytime, and that give us free calls to the US, including US mobile numbers, so that might be something worth her considering.

Pulaski

In the UK it is expensive to call a cell phone, but it is not the same in the US for the caller.. The added expense in the US is with the cell phone user, because it uses your minutes to receive the call.

My mother calls my cell phone, or my Vonage line (see more below), using her UK calling account with PlanetTalk, and it costs her no more than it used to cost her to call my (now disconnected) land line, which I think is about 2p/ minute.

We eventually decided to disconnect and replace our land line, because cell phone coverage is virtually non existent chez Pulaski. So we looked at internet phone services, and found that Vonage has a plan that doesn't feature in their advertisements, a 300 minute a month plan, which is way more than we need, for just $11.99/mth.

Just tell your mother you have a new phone number. She doesn't need to know that it's your cell phone number! . .... Or, if you're not too attached to your cell phone number, you could even have your land line number "ported" to your cell phone before you have your landline disconnected.

BunnyGirl

We use Rebtel, it costs 1p a minute to call the US (landline or cell) and it gives you a local number to call (0203... etc)

mykiddiewinks

we used vonage for a few years before my inlaws got a computer and now skype us once a week (they love being able to see their grandchildren). Vonage was around $25 a month and then was free for us to call them, they had a number that they had to go through in the UK if they wanted to call us.

Mrs Danvers

Ah OK. I think she has this idea in her head because my brother lives in South Africa and it cost her over 50p a minute to call his cell phone.

Lots of options here, thanks guys. I have just been looking at the landline and aside from people who I don't want calling me, the only person really using it are my parents.

Yorkieabroad

On my to do list today is a call to Smith Thompson to find out about their wireless monitoring. If it seems ok, we'll be ditching the landline. Another step away from the comcast domination of our house....

chuckles67

Localphone will provide a local area code number across the UK and forward to your US cellphone. The UK number costs 0.99USD per month and you pay 0.5 cents a minute for the incoming call. www.localphone.com

rpjs

With Skype you can rent a "landline" number that people can call from regular phones and have it routed to your Skype. You can even rent numbers in countries other than where you are. I have a Manchester UK number for my Dad to call from Bolton, so it's just a local-rate call for him.

Bob

Yes, for us, school closure/snow weather line will only call a landline, for some weird reason.

rpjs

But how can they tell? It's not like the UK where mobiles have their own numbering plan.

ChocolateBabz

I'm dumping mine at the end of the year. I got a good deal bundling phone and internet from Uverse for a year but was tied in for the year, come December 28th though the landline will be going. I only get calls from telesales or the dentist reminding me of an appointment.

Everyone back home uses skype or facetime now.

Mrs Danvers

That was another thing for me but my daughter just left K-12 education this past summer.

yellowroom

I use this, it's great. You can even choose which UK exchange you want the number to be, so it's "local" for your UK folks. Localphone then forward the call to your US number (cell phone or landline).

They even have Apps for smartphones, so you can call out using WiFi/3G and avoid using your cell phone minutes. Received calls do come through as "real calls" so will impact on your call allowance like any other call.

I also use the facility to call a local number here and it's forwarded on to the UK, so only pay 1 cent per minute (on top of normal phone charges for a local number).

No problems at all, the only negative is that making calls to the UK using wifi/3g at peak times (late Friday afternoon/early evening) can sometimes have a reduced call quality, but calling by dialing a real number has been fine at anytime.

My folks can't get their head around how it all works, but have been convinced that dialing their local "magic" number means that I will pick up the phone and their phone bill is actually less than it was when I was in the UK.