For those of us up there in age, the thought of getting rid of our home phone is a difficult proposition. If you still want the comfort of a home phone there are options. There is a) the traditional phone line, b) internet VOIP phone solutions, c) a cell phone that you call your home phone and d) new cell phone powered phone systems (I am sure there are others).
In our house, we decided to try the AT&T cellular home phone solution. The solution uses a standard cell phone SIM chip. The chip is placed in a unit that allows you to connect two analog RJ11 phones to the unit. These analog jacks connect to regular touch-tone phones or wireless phone units. I had an already existing wireless phone system. I have connected the wireless phone system to the cellular phone unit. The solution allows us to use our already existing wireless home phone system while changing our phone service.
The cell unit uses an antenna that is about three times stronger than your standard cell phone. Even if your AT&T cell phone has weak coverage at your house, this home unit may still work just fine (as is the case for me).
You can take the unit with you when traveling or if you move since it just uses a cellular connection and the unit is free if you sign a two year contract (at least at the time when I switched service). The voicemail system is the same voicemail system that you have with your cell phone. The only thing I do not like about it is that it does not support my all-in-one printer faxing.
The reason we purchased this unit was to keep a home phone while reducing our monthly cost. Our traditional phone line was costing us on average $35/month. This new unit costs $10/month and shares our family minutes and provides free long distance.
On a scale of one to ten with ten being most satisfied, I give it an 8.5.
AT&T product link: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/att/wireless-home-phone-silver.html#fbid=fQLZ-Ku5dTW
Article written by Allan Robison, President & CEO of EXEControl Global Solutions