Verizon is doing respectable business here in NJ with it’s 3-way TV/Phone/Interet Verizon FIOS bundle of services.
In that bundle, unlimited domestic land-line phone is $3X.XX of the monthly bundle cost.
However, Verizon Wirelss now has a “home phone” device offering in this area. It’s a device (not a cell phone) that connects to the Verizon Wireless cell phone service.
It takes a standard telephone in-house wire/cable plugged into a “land line” phone on one end and the other end into a standard telephone jack/receptor on the device. Service takes place over Verizon’s cell phone network.
The offer is priced at $20 flat per month for unlimited U.S. domestic & Canada calling. The device is plugged into a standard receptacle for its power and it delivers all the same functionality expected of a “land line” to the phone - including, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, 3-Way Calling, Voice Mail (*86), 411, 611, 911, Last Number Callback (*69), Caller ID (number only), International Calling (with iDial feature or an international calling card).
I am curious how the companies cost for providing the service results in the price-break of this “fixed” cell phone network service, compared to monthly charges for a regular cell/mobile phone.
There are no wires or cables to the house needed or needed to be maintained (falling trees on phone lines). With the stationary setting of the device, there is no “roaming” and communication is always using the cell tower(s) nearest the fixed location of the device. One question though is whether or not the communication remains strictly in the hands of the cell phone network, beyond the point of the closest tower, or if that closest tower is ONLY passing the communication to/from it and the nearest point in the landline backbone/switches/network - or not.