I'm realizing replies to the original post depend upon location. Overall, I consider my cell phone to be more reliable than VOIP and POTS, and I feel like VOIP is slighly more reliable than POTS. That's my feeling based on experience with all three where I live.

An emergency that is localized to my home is likely to be more pressing than an emergency that is region-wide. I figure the localized emergency will be something like a fire, home invasion or heart attack. The cell towers are likely to be operational if the emergency is just mine, and my cell phone is more likely to be near me. In contrast, a regional emergency will likely be of the type where I have time to compare notes with neighbors. I figure I'll usually have time to engineer a communication means or just make do without one. Bottom line, I plan ahead for the localized emergency, and I can improvise for the regional emergency if need be.

Originally Posted By: Doug_SE_MI

Quote:

Its the opposite here. I've used my internet connection to report my power out a couple times and my (POT) phone out dozens of times. So my internet is been the most reliable, gas second, power third and phone last.


What kind of Internet, and backup power, do you have that you have service when the power is out?

I have cable Internet, and UPS, but that won't keep Internet up very long.


Comcast, Vonage and UPS

My VOIP has stayed up and running flawlessly through about 5 power outages over the last 5 years. One power outage lasted for about 5 hours. The UPS is dedicated to the routers and phone. Again, reliability depends on where you live.
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