I like to keep it old school.
http://i.imgur.com/20Kew.jpg

I've got one, right next to the bed.

VOIP goes out with the power. I'm not one of those must be connected 24/7 types, so the cell phone is off if I am in the house. The POTS is there, it's cheap, long distance is free and when bundled with my sat TV makes the sat TV cheaper.

Unless a phone line is cut - and that happened once due to contractors not being able to discern north from south - I have phone service, and 911 knows exactly where I am.

That phone is really cool ..I've worked at phone company doing internet support (up until recently of course) for over 7 years. I can tell you that the phone network has a number of advantages over other systems. Primarily due to heavy regulation on the POTS network.

Bear in mind cell/VOIP do not have these same prequisites:

1) All lines, whether in service or not must be able to dial 911.
2) 911 service takes priority over ALL OTHERS (to the best of my knowledge, it's numero uno lest there be heavy fees to the company involved)
3) Voice repair takes priority over internet repair (same).
4) VOIP 911 is not the same as POTS 911 - look it up.
5) POTS lines will frequently work in an emergency if the power goes out (all run by gigantic backup generators, usually at least 700hp diesel for a small community) - at least until the telco runs out of fuel for the generator.

Not to say copper wire networks are foolproof and faultless - far from it. But at least you know that on the by and whole if you need to dial 911, you can. At the end of the day though, it's a dead system. I personally use VOIP at home, but at least understand the benefits of a good old POTS line. Which is why I have a separate line hooked up (not in service) for 911 calls.

We don't have a landline phone at home. Cell service where we live has been more reliable. I used to keep a landline for faxing and babysitters to use, but I haven't sent a fax in ages and all my babysitters have cellphones.

If I have to, I can power the broadband Internet gateway with an inverter and make VOIP calls, in the unlikely event that the cell system goes down but Internet stays up.

I keep a POTS in my house, though it goes through the cable service so I also have it on a UPS backup.

Funny you should mention that, I was going through my panick bag and someone found my RJ11-cat3 wire with four aligator clips on the other end (for you non-techies, that is a telephone cord with aligator clips on one end) The perosn asked me why I had that and a cheep toy phone (the realy cheap phones that they sold for children to use, it has a dial pad that takes POTS conections, and a little cheap ear piece with mic.)

I explained that I started carry that when I was doing SAR, it was a great way to hook into phone lines incase of a true emergency and be able to call for help. This happened back when I used to do SAR in places where there were ocasionaly phone lines, but little to nothing elese in the area.

Haven't had a POTS since 1998 and don't ever intend to have one again. Yes they could be valuable in a large scale / regional situation where cell networks are overwhelmed but to date that has not occurred here. If and when it does, the POTS may not be working anyway...

Dropped out land line a few years ago after AT&T bought out the local company. The bill rose to $40/month for just plain service without long distance and the phone was out of service more than it worked.
My parents have the same issue, way out in the country near the end of the line any little thing in between will break theirs and it takes weeks to get it fixed.

I have a POTS, which is pretty much only used by my 10-year-old TiVo that still dials up to get its programme guide. TiVo are re-entering the UK and I hope to replace it, but I'll probably keep the phone as a back-up.

(I have also some spare free SIM cards that were acquired for backup, but they are probably expired now.)

I have a POTS, and will until they retire the system, if ever. Cheap insurance of sorts.

My wired handset is in the bedroom, all other POTS handsets in the house are wireless and will go out when the power fails. The wired handset is in the bedroom, with a heavy rubber band holding the handset in the cradle - in the event of an EQ, this will keep it from coming loose, and tying up the line. When I want to try to make a call, I just remove the rubber band.

I have two of the 'old' touch tone desk phones and we've got a hard wire landline. There are three cordless phones on it with the dinosaur phones, the computer (to fax or whatnot) but the nice part is if all the power is out, the old punch button phone works when the computer and cordless don't.

I need to maintain a landline for our alarm system and it has battery backup for it so, I should always be able to get a call out or in as long as the lines last and there is hard line service. That said, my wife and I have cell phones and I have a cell from work too.

Paul in MN -