These days, people often wonder about the merits of owning a home phone when cell phones are far more convenient. In these modern times, people just can’t be bothered to push buttons or dial numbers just to be able to reach a person or company that they wish to speak to when you can just tap your cell phone screen and in mere seconds, your contact is on the line ready and waiting.
The importance of home phones have been proven time and time again especially during natural disasters when the power runs out and there’s no way to charge your cell phone’s batteries. Some homeowners also still prefer landlines especially those who have elderly relatives living with them who don’t want to use a cell phone and prefer a landline. In times of emergency, 911 dispatchers can easily locate you using your landline number and they can’t really do that with a cell phone.
But perhaps the most important reason why you should hold on to your home phone is the fact that your internet connection depends heavily on it. If you’re using ADSL broadband internet then you can’t really do without a home phone. If you have an home-monitored alarm system or if you run your business from home and you have a fax machine, then a home phone is handy and in more ways, more dependable than a cell phone, which is why most homeowners still prefer to have one at home even if they own fancy smart phones.
Moving to a new home can be very stressful and among the things that make the move as such is the transfer of utilities. What would make this even more difficult is when you find out that your current provider does not service the area you are moving to. It also becomes more inconvenient when in all the stress of preparations, you forget to inform your new home phone providers of your move date so you arrive to find that you don’t have a phone connection and will have to wait for at least three weeks to get one.
If it happens that you will need to contact a new home phone provider, the first thing to remember is that they should not only be competitively-priced, they should be first and foremost reliable. You should base your choice on the following factors: the number of minutes you spend on the phone every month, what time of day or night do you make the most number of calls and if you make most of your calls during the weekdays or the weekends. This is important because you’ll need to decide on a price plan that matches your phone usage and find the best phone providers Australia who can provide that.
You will also need to understand the types of home phone packages and plans you can avail of, like the pay as you go service where you pay for each call you make and the packaged bundles which includes extra services like free unlimited calls during the weekends or during the evenings. Some of these home phone packages include free handsets or offer you discounts if you buy the handset from the provider. You will also need to ask questions regarding installation and connection charges, service standards, policies on debt and disconnection, deposits, maintenance contracts and rates.
Then there are also the contracts to consider – your home phone contract will usually run from a minimum of one to a maximum of two years and if you decide to end your contract early, you will need to pay early-termination fees. There are lots of things to consider when choosing your home phone connections but as long as you know what you want and expect from a provider, you can definitely find the best one with no problem at all.
Incidentally, you can also get help from the moving company you choose as moving companies these days also offer the free service of taking care of utility transfers on your behalf. You just need to remember to notify your current phone provider at least 5 days before you move out to avoid any additional charges for a rather hurried disconnection.
And lastly, when you ask the moving company to take care of your phone reconnections, they will first need to determine if the property you are moving into has an active phone line or none because those with active phone lines will usually just take 48 hours to connect, while properties without active phone lines can take 3-5 working days. If you are moving to a new property on the other hand, connections can usually be made within 48 hours provided the builders have arranged for the required infrastructure to be installed on the property.
