Hey there!
I thought I might be one of the last holdouts on having a landline telephone as well as a mobile phone, but it turns out I’m not.
Not even close.
But the term “landline” is changing, from what was POTS (plain old telephone service) to VOIP (voice over internet protocol).
Wha??
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Hope this helps!
David
All Episodes
Five Ways To Have An Excellent Coffee Date With Me
Five Ways To Have A Crappy Coffee Date With Me
Taking Advantage Of The Wisdom Of The Tribe
How To Be A World Class Complainer
The False Nobility Of The Struggle
Watch Out – The Rules Are Going To Change
Coaching vs Consulting vs Facilitating
The Perils of Live Performance And Why Jeremy Kappell Should Not Have Been Fired
Let’s Welcome To The Stage…Failure!
Don’t Confuse Price With Value
The Two Things Most Talent Try to Accomplish Way Too Soon
10,000 Hours To Become Good At Something? Not Really.
The Trick Charlie Munger Uses To Make Better Decisions
Everyone’s A Customer, Not Just Your Customers
“What do you mean, you’re a ‘process guy’?”
Pay Attention To Your Storytelling, Not Removing Your Breaths
How To Conquer FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
The Problem In Every Commercial Script
The Job In Every Commercial Script
The Secret In Every Commercial Script
Voice Over Is REALLY Hard. Until It Isn’t.
Helping Make Resolutions Stick
ACX Jobs: They’re ALL SAG-AFTRA-Friendly
Non-Union? You Can Still Open An AFTRA H&R Account. What?
Who Says You Need To “Feel Like It?”
Your Day Job Might Just Be Worth Keeping For A Bit Longer
Want To Learn Something Really Well? Teach It To Others
Don’t Confuse What Works With What You Like
The Lost Keys And The Microphone In My Elevator
My Insane Backup System Plus Two Helpful Tips
What Open Loops Are And Why They Work So Well
Two More Things For Which You Can Use Open Loops
Three Things Not To Say Or Do…When Trying To Learn Something New
Front Burner and Back Burner Project Management
How To Properly List The Accents and Dialects You Perform
My SAG-AFTRA Presentation On VO Demos (Part 1)
My SAG-AFTRA Presentation On VO Demos (Part 2)
A Simple, One-Word Decision-Making Question To Ask Yourself
How You Can Use The MVP Model As A Performer
The Robocall Equivalent Of Unsubscribe
Making Your Links Irresistible
HTTPS Is Not Just For Banks – It’s For You
The Threat That Made Me Create a New Page For LAME
The Resource You Must Guard Most Carefully
How New Media Is Using The Oldest Ad Model Ever
Killing Customers With Kindness
I Found Out What She Was Podcasting About
How I Answered Voices.com’s Inquiry
Turning Mountains Into Molehills
Motivation: Your Three Big Needs In A Cool Little Package
Go Ahead. Multitask. But Try It Like This.
The Prodigy Game Doesn’t Deserve This Treatment
What Fair Markets Are, And Why Voices.com Isn’t One
Trevor’s Three A’s From Apple On Killing Customers With Kindness
Getting Ready vs. Getting Started
You’ll Never Believe Who Got Rejected By Harvard
There Is No Failure, Only Feedback
Who Is Your Most Dangerous Adversary?
73 Videos In, My First Hater Appears
If You’re The Smartest Person In The Room, Do This ASAP
Your Glasses And Crucial Laptop Positioning Info
One More Insanely Over-engineered Piece Of Gear: My UPS
The Crazy Backward Way IKEA Prices Their Stuff
Voices.com Complained To YouTube That I Violated Their Privacy
For Your Health: Not Perfect. Just Better.
Mr. Wonderful Is Actually More Wonderful Than I Thought
Let’s Finally Close The Digital Literacy Gender Gap
The Guaranteed Way To Completely Avoid Criticism
The Two Things People Judge About You Within Seconds
Are You Committed? Or Just…Interested?
Audible Retail Samples: Why They Suck And Why It Doesn’t Really Matter
How To Voice Copy That’s Set In Italics
Dyslexia, And The Palindromic Poem. The Wha?
Increase Your Chances Of Being Seen And Heard On Facebook
Jamie Has Some Thoughts About Fiverr
Is Simply Discouraging Distracted Driving Enough?
“Young People Are Just Smarter.”
The Real Purpose Of The “Can You Hear Me?” Phone Scam
An AMA Preview: The Word “Ethnic” – A Slur, Or An Essential Adjective?
10 Rules of Profitable Self Discipline from Napoleon Hill
AMA (Ask Me Anything): Here Are The Answers (Part 1)
AMA (Ask Me Anything): Here Are The Answers (Part 2)
AMA (Ask Me Anything): Here Are The Answers (Part 3)
AMA (Ask Me Anything): Here Are The Answers (Part 4)
AMA Answers Part 5 Plus A Medical Warning
Last AMA Answers (#6): Gear, Services and Success
A 7-Word Reminder: “Don’t correct people when it matters little.”
Do You Have A Plan? And Is It The Right One?
What’s Your Next Big Move? Are You Ready?
Build Your Future On Your Own Platform, Not Someone Else’s
I’m Leaving Facebook: Why Groups and FB Live No Longer Spark Joy
Time To Accept That I’ve Failed At Something – Happily
Crowdfunding Without The Internet: Pulitzer And The Statue Of Liberty
The Amazing Power Of Recognition And Badging
Might We Have A Possible Cause For Alzheimer’s?
Why Podcasting And Radio Are Out Of Whack
Value Enthusiasm, But Value Persistence More
Ten Ways To Make Money With Podcasts Besides Ads
One Quick Question To Find Out How Important Something Actually Is
The Workflow For Producing These Videos (So Far) Part 1
Why Not Wade? And…Why Not You?
Audiobook Narrators: How Paymasters Work, And The One I Recommend
Why Gen Z And Millennials’ Love For Audiobooks Is Crucial
American Idol: It’s All About Story, Not Just Singing
Less Beating Yourself Up, More Talking Yourself Up
Resist Oversharing. Instead, Start A Dialogue.
Vocal Care: It’s All About What Works For You
3 Biases You Should Be Aware Of
3 More Biases You Should Also Be Aware Of
Wow. People Really Grokked Biases. Let’s Tackle Fallacies.
Three More Fallacies You Need To Watch For
Two Last Big Creativity-Crippling Fallacies
A New Lead Source For Performers: Voice Assistants And Smart Speakers
A Great Way To Handle Trolls and Haters
Quantity Does Not Usually Equal Quality
Is Facebook Truly A Monopoly? No More Than Microsoft Was.
Fear Of The Unknown, Or The Day Before My Surgery
A Strange Aspect To Performing That Should Be Cause For Protest, But Isn’t
Want To Grow? Don’t Go It Alone.
How Am I Doing? I’m Gobsmacked. That’s How Am I Doing.
Why I Give My Agents 10% Of Everything
Not Just Explainer Videos, But Video That Explain Things Spectacularly
Mental Floss To The Rescue: Skills You Can Pick Up On YouTube
What’s Better Than Willpower? Grit.
Regarding Apple’s App Store: Be Careful What You Wish For, Pepper
Of COURSE You Wonder What Porter’s Five Forces Are. Who Doesn’t?
Don’t Waste Your Time: Talk Shows Aren’t Meant To Be Fair
Sooner Or Later, I’m Really Going To Tick You Off
Just Because You Can Do Something Doesn’t Mean You Should
Wait, What? Audacity Records In The Background?!
Enjoy Your First Booking. Pay Close Attention To The Next Three.
Pattern Interruption And The Musicality Of Voice Over
Do You Still Have A Landline? Is It POTS? Wait, What’s POTS?
Increase Your VO Accuracy, And You’ll Increase Your VO Profits
Age Range Isn’t Really A Valid Metric For VO
How To Stop Jealousy From Killing Your Progress
Even The Bible (And Game Of Thrones) Has One-Star Reviews
How Much Is Enough To Make Per Hour?
With Royalty Share Plus, ACX Makes Hybrid Stipends Official
Wait, Vices Can Be Good For Your Health?
What A Lovely Thing To Discover: Praise From CourVO
I Figured Out What I Provide: The Onboarding Performers Don’t Get
You Don’t Need Permission To Care Or Contribute
It’s Not Just You. It’s The Superstars, Too.
Do You Sometimes Think Irrationally? Maybe. Here’s How To Stop It.
The Struggle Of Announcer-y Versus Non-Announcer-y Voice Over
How My VAs Support Me And My Team
The Often “Most Difficult” Concept I Teach
Please Unsubscribe From This List. But Don’t Do This One Destructive, Lazy Thing.
Don’t Mistake The Joy Of Knowing For The Joy Of Doing
Why Giving Yourself Some Simple Homework Can Be Life-Changing
One Weird Trick I Do That Makes My Note-Taking Superhuman
The Worst Thing About The Biggest Money-Making Entertainment Category
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How To Create Useful, Organized Audition File Names
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I’m Halfway Finished. What Have You Valued Most? What Can I Do Better?
Our Digital Attention Span Is Incredibly Brief
“Serves You Right!” She Actually Has No Idea How Right.
Create A Safe Environment For Self-Improvement
Why I Use One Single Channel For Crucial Communication
The Even Cheaper AT-2020 USB Plus Microphone?
Fred Willard (and Billy West) On Quickly Creating Authentic VO Characters
Leo Makes Your Searching Spectacular
On Asking For Things Performers Can’t Do
How To Battle The Urge of “Efficiency”
One More Best-Of-Breed Way To Brilliantly Complain
Changing Audacity’s Sampling Rate To 48,000 Hz
10 Words Of Encouragement When You’re Stuck
Seek/Give Mentorship That’s Appropriate To The Journey
Two Cases Where You Might Not Want To Simply “Follow Your Passion”
Having Fun With Headphone Volume
Please Stop Rushing To Perform
Something To Consider: Everyone’s Internal Menu
One Crazy Key To Creativity: Pure, Unadulterated Boredom
The Most Commonly Consumed Media Is…!
What’s Dangerous For Us To Care About
Please, Clever Copywriters…Stop Using This Term
Wait, Wait…What? They Actually Listened?!
Why You Should Take The Same Classes Twice
How Your Character’s Menu Informs Your Performance Choices
What Shouldn’t Be Your Metric For VO Success
Someone Awesome Who’s Also Rising To A 365-Day Challenge
Union Or Not, Start With Union Rates
O. M. G. Look What Matt Zurbo Did!
So Where Will That Huge Facebook Fine End Up?
Avoid That One Obvious “That Worked” Sound We Make
Why Union Members Can Audition For Non-Union Work
200 Auditions. 1 Booking. A Ghost. Really?
I Can’t Do One Thing I’m Asked To Do Every Single Day
One Of Your Secret Weapons: Agility
Do Networking Events Make You Anxious? Let’s Fix That.
Project X Is Just About Ready. I’m A Bit Giddy.
The Difference Between Mansplaining and Advice?
Too Late, Melissa. You Already Are.
Help Me Solve A Lovely Mystery!
I still have a POTS line. I like that it works during blackouts, but 99% of the calls are telemarketing. I want to get rid of it, but my wife wants to keep it.
THANK YOU! Yes, I still have a POTS line, and in my bedroom I have a rotary phone that I’ve had since college. I like the sound of a real bell when the phone rings, the sound quality of the conversations is better than either of our cell phones, and there are no dead zones with a POTS. The only thing that’s a drag with it is that if you have a blackout (like we recently did), the battery backup dies if the event goes on longer than 24 hours, so you lose the landline. I’m gonna hang onto this for as long as I can.
I still have a pots line. I am retired from the phone company. I installed, repaired residential lines as well as maintained the cable (not cable tv, telephone cable). I will keep it as long as I can. Cell service in my area is sketchy.
We have been trying to get the old POTS line up and running back in our home. The providers in our area no longer will use the wiring, they want us to go to fiberoptics which we do not want to do. We have the old wiring, because we used to have a phone. Is there a way we can manually install this our selves some how to get it working and pay another service? Any thoughts would be appreciated from someone who may know a little about the old pots systems. :)
you can email me if you like – triciagrosch@sbcglobal.net
I no longer have a POTS line. However I believe that if I hooked up a phone to it I would still be able to call 911 if necessary.
Move to rural NH – POTS lines are still the rage! :) I love ours as the call quality is far better than Verizon and, like Craig said, it works during blackouts. If they ever install fiber on our road, I want to see if we can keep the copper for the phone line…
I love my landline! It’s very expensive, for some absurd reason, but I’m not worried about ELF exposure or radiation when using it.
I worked for AT&T bell labs for years. Yes, I very much still have a landline, but it is VoIP, not POTS. Honestly, I’m not even sure POTS is available in this relatively new house.
When we first moved into this house we had three POTS lines, one for us, one for the kids, and one for the computer (I was doing web development in the late 90s).Over the years we dropped two of the lines. Then about 10 years ago we switched the remaining POTS line over to Vonage because my daughter was living in the UK and we could call her for free. We still have the Vonage “land line” because these days I have a bedside Merlin unit that periodically interrogates my heart pacemaker and phones the mother ship. If a future version of the Merlin unit is network friendly, the land line could finally be retired.
Yes, I still have it. During a weeklong power outage, it was a wonderful way to stay connected to the outside world. I don’t want to give it up, but my phone company is phasing them out. :(
My wife and I can’t decide on whether to keep our land line or not. Our only cable provider is also our phone and internet provider, and if you take one item away from the package (cable, phone, or internet) the price jumps up considerably for each part taken away. I don’t know how companies can get away with that. Anyway, thanks for the video David.
We decided to get rid of our landline because the only people who seemed to have it were people who called infrequently and telemarketers. The other reason to have it was for faxes which I got infrequently. But the bill for $50/month for this line came very frequently. And at the time, that was the major consideration. We each had cells and internet. It didn’t seem necessary.
What I miss most was when the power went out (storms happen in Colorado) The only phone that stayed on was the hard-wired rotory phone in the basement. Not even a teltone. Rotory. (Go baby boomers!) The wireless handheld landline phones would go out if the power to the base was lost. But the OLD phone downstairs stayed on. Who knows, we may get it hooked up again. Telco doesn’t know about it and I see no reason to enlighten them.
When my ISP started offering internet and phone for $40 a month it was a no brainer to drop the POTS line. The interesting thing is the internet and phone line both use AT&T infrastructure. Even though I’m billed by my ISP my modem is actually an AT&T modem If there was a problem it’s AT&T who would come out to fix it.
I still use a landline with a push button phone that looks a lot like the old rotary phone. Had a hard time getting a new piece for it when I checked in at the local phone store. Asked for a new receiver cord for the landline and received a blank look and “what’s a receiver cord?” question from the clerk. Aaarrrgghh!
Walmart
Our area converted to VOIP a few years ago, but I still have the landline–AND a ROTARY desktop phone. Just can’t part with that battleship of an instrument…
David,
We have 3 rotary dial (old style) phones, 1 touch tone style (same as rotary style), 1 trimline touch tone phone, one Sony touchtone wall phone, an AT & T cordless phone and a princess touch tone phone. One of the rotary phones is a classic black color and has a wire hook up. It is not a working phone (but we love it). We also have 2 iPhone 6S and a flip phone! Not giving up my landline!!
As much as I hate to say it, POTS is dead. The last vestiges are the wires from your home to a pedestal and then on to a Central Office (CO) Switch. From there it’s anybody’s guess. It could be fiber, microwave or VOIP. The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a mere shadow of its former self.
Even the CO Sometimes called an Exchange isn’t what it used to be. I don’t think there are any busbar switches left in the country. In fact, now many Exchanges (the first two numbers in your phone number,) are virtual and multiples exist in one office.
For those of you who have an old POTS line in your home that you no longer use, it is as useless as (insert your favorite euphemism here.) You can connect an old phone to it but it would be dead as a door nail. Your old phones can only work if they are connected to a switch in the CO and are getting an electrical signal—that’s why they work when your power goes out.
Even if the telco left your line connected (doubtful) your phone is useless unless the switch senses you picked up the receiver and then sends you a Dial Tone. But the phone company only does that if you pay for it—handsomely.
The old rotary phones were Pulse Dial, unlike TouchTone that used Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) signals. All a pulse dial phone could send the switch was an On/Off signal (How ironic. They were digital before it was cool.) They were both still analog signals, though. All the way to the person you called—unless it was long distance; then likely it went microwave.
Taking the receiver off hook (phones used to have those, too,) would interrupt the circuit and tell the switch you wanted to call someone.
The switch would look for an available line (called trunking) and if it found one, would send a tone to you (dial tone) letting you know you could make a call. (You will note that cellphones don’t have dial tones.) You would then rotate the phone dial and it would make and break the circuit in rapid succession, until it had sent the number you selected on the dial. If you were fast enough, you could dial a number with the switch hook.
Nope. We still have a POTS line, a separate fiber optic line for internet, cell phones, and satellite for tv.. Tech was surprised to find out that we had the POTS. When he asked why, I told him that our cellphones were for family and friends only. No businesses, creditors, not even our doctors have cell numbers. They have the landline. Because of that, telemarketers only call the landline, and I have tons of fun with the fools. POTS dead? I think not!!!
Still got a POTS line and an old desk phone (in case of power outage or internet failure) — love it and will never give it up LOL How dare they tell me they won’t service this someday soon!!!! Hmmmmph!
I still have a landline but it’s not POTS it’s VOIP bundled with my tv and internet. Fiber is taking over and more copper circuits are being decommissioned every year. I was talking with some of my radio engineering friends and here in Indy, copper is supposed to be completely gone in the metro by end of 2020. ISDN lines are pretty much gone as well. So it will be fiber or wireless.
I have a POTS line. I have a cell phone, of course, which I use when I hear it ring (usually its buried in my purse) and when I keep it charged and when I can find it (sometimes when it’s not on the charger or in my purse I might leave it where I am when I hang up). Cell phone is great for checking email and directions etc. i use it when I travel, but I don’t know if I could adapt to just cell phone. I guess I could learn to keep it charged, etc. I think the problem is my smartphone is smarter than me.