Home phone worth keeping?

[griffin]

I've been thinking of getting rid of my home phone since the start of the year, but am just hesitant, because I feel like I'm missing something that will leave me caught out someday needing it.
Over the last year or so, I've been paying for a home phone and a cheap $5 per month pre-paid mobile. But when Toyfair and BotCon earlier this year, I knew that I needed a better mobile plan (to use while interstate, and global roaming). The thing that bothered me though is that I rarely make phonecalls, and yet, I would now be paying for 2 phones every month.
I had to get rid of one, but it couldn't be the mobile.
The question is, is it possible to be without a home phone. I hear about people doing it, but how practical is it? Like, when you call up an automated number, does it recognise keying in number options like the home phone (the number tones), and more importantly, does it mean I will have to rely on the post office to send faxes (at the moment it is just one a year with BotCon registration, but when I was importing comics 5 years ago, I used a program on the computer to send faxes through the home phone line).
And the more selfless issue that worries me, is that other people will now have to pay more to call me.

First, has anyone else gotten rid of their home phone, and only have their mobile?

Anyway, the facts:
- The Monthly minimums: $49 (mobile), $20 (home phone, but goes up to $21 from November)
- Call Credit: $350 (mobile), $0 (home phone)
- Additional call charges: $0-20 (Not likely to go over $350 in a month on the mobile, but international calls are extra), $10-40 most months (home phone, and call costs are going up from November).

So the Mobile is more expensive to pay for each month, but seems unavoidable, and $49 looks to be the cheapest plan I could get to suit my needs, from a major (reliable long term) carrier who has global roaming.

Am I just wasting my time thinking about this, and should just go ahead and disconnect my home phone, or is there a reason I need to keep it?

[STL]

I think u should. I was living up in Sydney for several months a few years ago now and I saw no need to have a fixed line no. I think its more relevant where u've got an entire family to look after and more o/s calls. Well that's how it seems these days

[MV75]

Possible? Yea, naked dsl has made that a reality now. I personally never use, hardly ever, our fixed line. Then again, I never use my stupid mobile either, I'm nearing the end of my 6 months prepay and still have the $15 I put on it. I can order pizzahut online these days. Yea, I just don't have the need to stay plugged into everyone else through a phone. Online is my communication link.

What has changed your mind since yesterday when you used fax as a justification excuse and to end the discussion?

[Pulse]

If you're basically not using it & people ring you on your mob when they want to find you, then there's really no point in having a fixed line... (it just goes to waste)

[jacksplatt11]

one positive will be no more telemarketers ringing haha..

i use our home phone for all my calls to anyone, but that's only because i'm living at home so mum pays and it doesn't effect my bank balance.. if i was living away from home i would have to way up whether its worth having a mobile and home phone, or having a mobile plan big enough to cover all your calls and still be less than a home phone plus mobile, bearing in mind mobile calls are usually more expensive..

on another note, do you need to have a home phone plan to be able to have the internet? or as long as you have a connection from your house to the phone lines and have no home phone plan you can still have the net... i am imagine dial up would be out (who has that nowadays anyway) but what about adsl etc..

[GoktimusPrime]

As others have said, it depends on your personal usage. My wife and I use our home phone to call other land line numbers (calling land lines from mobiles is more expensive for us) and yeah, for overseas calls too.

one positive will be no more telemarketers ringing haha..

I have fun with telemarketers.


^true story

Funnily enough I haven't had one call my land line in nearly a year (now they target my mobile).

[kup]

I no longer use a phone mainly because I would never use it.

- Mobile
- Internet

That is all that I need for communication.

As a result I only spend $30/m for mobile and $50/m for Internet (which work pays for anyway )

[griffin]

Since someone pointed it out, the internet was something I forgot to mention - it is a broadband cable, not dialup, and not requiring a phone line.

As for the personal usage bit, well with $350 credit on the mobile for all local, SMS, Mobile and National calls, I should only have to pay for International and any numbers that have additional call costs. And since I never get above $50 on the home phone on any month, I can't see myself going over that credit amount. And even if I did make that many calls in a month, it would be still be less than the home phone at its cheaper rate. But with line rental and a number of call costs going up in November with Telstra, it's probably a good time to get out of it. And the biggest money grab is they are going to revert back to charging by the 30-second block from home to mobiles, instead of per second. Plus, they are getting rid of the Saturday night STD cap, which would be when it is most used, and both changes affect me.

What has changed your mind since yesterday when you used fax as a justification excuse and to end the discussion?

Nothing. I just said I needed more time to think about it, and getting other people's opinions here now will help me think about it better.

[Tober]

I'm on Direct DSL so I have to have an active phone line, however my landline phone isn't plugged in and forms part of the DSL package.

Mobiles can be used to pay bills. I barely use my mobile either but have to have one so I have a Direct Plan which can now be as cheap as $10/month for 24 months and includes a decent phone and various calls/SMS per month - I hardly ever go over it.

I refuse to use Telstra.

[Kyle]

I refuse to use Telstra.

+ 1.

I agree it's a good time to get out of it.