Originally Posted By: MartinFocazio
A POTS phone is a MUST HAVE for your home. Even if you just keep it in a box, it's a crucial thing to have.


We have two active cellphones, a couple of inactive cellphones with chargers (unlike landline phones, a cellphone without an active account can still be used for 911), VOIP, and a HAM radio HT. I can power my Internet gateway via an inverter if I need to.

It's not impossible for landline service to stay up while cellphone and Internet service are down, but in my neck of the woods cellphones have been essentially 100% reliable, Internet roughly 99.9% reliable, and landline phones about 95% reliable.

I'd guess that at least half of my neighbors have landline phones, if that's the only way to summon help.