Staying Landline Connected

Over the next three weeks, I'll be using this space to relate the reasons it is important keep your landline phone service.

Perhaps more than most areas, Horry County is susceptible to emergency situations and adverse weather conditions with tropical storms and hurricanes in summer and fall, and the possibility of ice storms in winter. Due to these factors, there are several things to consider before disconnecting landline phone service in favor of voiceover Internet protocol (VoIP)/digital or wireless service.

With VoIP and wireless services becoming more popular, we here at HTC are speaking up to warn potential digital users about the disadvantages this service offers in the wake of natural or man-made disasters.

Through simple use of both products and research, it has been demonstrated that landline phones provide much better service than digital and wireless phones. For phone service, landlines cannot be surpassed when it comes to power outages, 911 emergency calls, alarm monitoring services and call quality.

Reason One: Power Outages

Digital phones and other equipment (phone adapters, routers, etc.) need to be electrically powered, which makes it a big problem when there is an extended power outage. While some digital phones are equipped with battery back-up, they cannot compare with a corded landline phone which is line-powered by the network and has no dependency on the power supply in a home or office. In situations such as hurricanes, it is important to remember that even once the storm has passed, it can be several days to weeks before power is fully restored.

Make sure to check back here next week to read the second of this three-part installment on the importance of landline phones.

Best,

Tom