[citation][nom]cwolf78[/nom]Nope. Well technically I do have phone service with my cable company, but only because it was cheaper to get the "triple play" than just getting Internet and TV. I don't even own a phone to plug into it though. But for 911 the cable's phone service isn't the best anyway as it doesn't even function when the power is out. Don't have to worry about that with a cell phone. Plus if you're at home, chances are your cell phone is connected with Wi-Fi, and that can offer another method for 911 to track your location (unless, of course the power is out).When reading your justifcation for keeping a land line just for 911, I had to wonder... how many calls do you place to 911? If like most people, almost never, that's going to rack up to a really expensive 911 call when you factor in the expense of your land line over time... just to make that one call.[/citation]
i forget what i pay for it, if i actually called people, it would cost a crap ton, but because i dont, its something around 5-10 $ a month which is cheap.
[citation][nom]dalethepcman[/nom]You remember about 10 years ago when customers were forced to stop using analog cell phones? That wasn't just so your provided could better use that bandwidth, all digital cell phones know exactly where they are as long as they are on. By the time you hit send, we know where you are, how long you've been there, and which direction (if any) you are moving.Cellular phones cannot have their lines cut from the side of your house/under the ground/on the telephone pole. Cellular phones don't require a constant electrical connection to work properly, so they will work if the power is out. If your house is on fire, don't forget to call 911 on your land line before escaping. The list of pro's outweighs by far the imaginary list of con's, unless your a tinfoil hat kinda person.[/citation]
up until recently 911 call centers could be spoofed by faking your number and address, i think it was through voip. they couldn't tell where the hell you were, so kids, and a#@holes started calling and reporting horrific s@%$, google it, you will hear some of what happed. and if i'm right not every 911 call center is able to deal with that even today.
our phone line gets power outside of our power... if that makes sense. we can make a call without power... at least if nothings changed. but by me, if we lose power its for a second or two, unless a tornado, or something similarly bad happens in which case, 911 doesn't do crap. but as for what you said, they know the second you press send, im guessing that may be true of smartphones, but im really doubting a 20$ trackphone will go into that kind of detail. and on top of that, i am really going to doubt that 911 centers in rural areas got upgraded to that extent if that call spoofing was working till recently.
also correct me if im wrong, but even through a cable company, don't calls still work on a power out, a friend has a box in the basement for 911 calls, if power goes out, don't they just lose the ability to trace you instantly?
and on an unrelated note, your name reminds me of someone o know of in everquest, the way they name their characters, dalethemage