14 years ago (almost to the day - this photo taken March 19, 2008), Big Bend Telephone hooked up my land line and DSL. In all these years I rarely had any issues and the 2 or 3 times I did, BBT was quick to resolve them. My phone that I could only use at home with unlimited long distance and slow DSL (6 Mbs download and 1 Mbs upload speeds) cost me $102 per month.
My new links to the outside world are a Moto G7 Play smart phone I can use anywhere with Mint Mobile unlimited calling and texting for $15 per month and Starlink fast internet (250 Mbs download and 40 Mbs upload speeds) costs me $99 per month. My new telecommunications services total $114 per month. I don't have cell service at TFL but the smart phone works brilliantly with wifi calling. Mint Mobile uses the T-Mobile network of towers to I can get cell service just about everywhere else. My DSL with BBT is cancelled but I am holding onto the old land line for another month in the off chance I can port out my old phone number to the cell phone. I have been going back and forth with BBT, the FCC, and the Public Utilities Commission of Texas for a month trying to sort out the issue. Seems the FCC has enacted a relatively new law requiring ALL carriers to allow number porting. At first, BBT flat out told me they do not allow it. After filing my first complaint with the FCC, BBT then told me they do "allow it" but it won't work with any cell carrier. Mint Mobile told me they cannot port my number in and every major cell carrier I contacted told me the same thing. Number porting (keeping your phone number when switching between carriers) has actually been going on for almost 20 years, but for many of those years, small rural carriers were granted a waiver to block number porting. From what I understand, those waivers are gone now. It has been extremely difficult to get a straight answer out of anyone and as long as they keep yanking my chain... I am going to yank back. 68,74,34,0,B
3 comments:
It definitely is possible, I just ported 2 numbers from Republic Wireless (considered land line numbers for some strange reason) to Visible wireless. It took a week, but it finally worked. I looked at mint, but decided to try visible. So far, so good. Verizon network seems to have better coverage around here.
I hope it works for you, Sir. Phone companies seem to be against porting. I tried it and it was like climbing a never-ending mountain.
I gave up and got a new number. Part of the reason I decided to drop the old one was SPAM! I was getting more and more.
Again, good luck.
Since I got my new # spam has dropped to zero. If it starts again I will get another new #.
I do not see any reason to keep the same # for life. I just wish I had done this sooner.
Good Luck John. Sounds similar to my experience with my rural telephone company. Last year I decided to get rid of my home phone number as we hardly ever used it anymore and since we finally got good cell service here in the sticks. I just wanted to keep my DSL and drop my home phone. Centurylink informed me that if got rid of my home phone I would have to give up my 6Mbs DL speed and I could only have 3Mbs. I guess that's what you get when these rural phone companies don't have competition. Maybe Starlink will teach them a lesson.
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