Can someone tell me the pros and cons of keeping my land line telephone service?

Question by debodun: Can someone caution me the pros and cons of keeping my land line telephone service?
My cable company keeps calling me with an offer of bundling my phone service with my Internet and TV for an additional $ 19.99 a month. I’m paying about $ 106 now for TV and Internet service and paying about $ 40 to keep my land line telephone only because it doesn’t go out when the electricity does, which is just when I would need it. Aptly now I’m on one of their “budget” plans where I pay by the call, but have to pay extra for long-distance service which I hardly ever use) and and additional $ 7 for line maintenance, positive all the taxes and surcharges. I don’t have any extras like caller ID or call waiting. I don’t have a cell phone. I’m trying to choose whether to keep my expensive land line which I might make 3 or 4 calls monthly, or switch to digital phone service. Things came to a head recently when I could not hear incoming calls. The phone company set up two scheduled service calls where I had to take days off from work, wait home all day for a technician who never showed up. Someone told me it’s because most of the service fleet are doing FIOS and there are not may techs left who know how to service the ancient copper lines. Can anyone offer any advice? Thankfulness.

Preeminent answer:

Answer by RICH
I always like to keep a landline in service. The cheapest landline advice, if you don’t use it much, order MEASURED RATE service. Much cheaper if you don’t call much.. CANCEL your long distance carrier. Do not add any unnecessary services. Bare bones POTS service. (You can still make incoming long distance calls) and if you have to call a long distance number, make an AT&T phone card, I use one, and make long distance for about 3 cents a minute, with no extra charges.

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