*nod* Like I said, I shouldn't be thinking about adding more weight ...
And yes, I already have a landline, but despite the daydream involving unrealistic one-time hardware costs, the notion that spurred me on that flight of fancy was the idea of a connection-speed upgrade that didn't increase my monthly bill. If I could replace the POTS line with DSL for $30-$40 per month, then DSL would make economic sense. If I could replace the combination of cell phone and POTS with a broadband connection that cost about the same as those two together, that would also be an economically neutral change. (The hitch there is that the connection would have to travel with me if it were to replace the cell phone functionality, which led to the expensive thought experiment.)
But now that you've got me thinking about it ... if I'm willing to give up the cell phone, putting DSL on top of my POTS line would mean I could use the landline for voice calls, so I'd still have voice connectivity. I'd just have to give up the ability to do be connected via voice and SMS when I'm out of the house. The mobile aspect wasn't the reason I got a cell phone in the first place, but I've gotten rather accustomed to having that. I need to sit down and seriously consider just how important having a cell phone is to me, and whether it would make more sense to spend that money on DSL instead.
(There's another aspect, since my cell phone is one of the prepaid plans. Right now, if I'm short on cash one month and run out of airtime, I just do without my phone until I can afford to buy more minutes. With a conventional cell plan (which would be cheaper per minute), or with DSL, spending that money wouldn't be flexible -- if I don't have the money to pay the monthly fee, I get late charges, nastygrams, and eventually termination of service that's more of a pain to re-establish than just buying a phone card at 7-11. If I had a steady income, then the idea of increasing my monthly phone bill by $30 probably wouldn't be a problem -- that's actually pretty cheap for just about everybody but me.)
If I had a steady income, then the idea of increasing my monthly phone bill by $30 probably wouldn't be a problem -- that's actually pretty cheap for just about everybody but me.)
My SSD and SSI total less than $600 a month so, trust me, I understand that one!
(no subject)
And yes, I already have a landline, but despite the daydream involving unrealistic one-time hardware costs, the notion that spurred me on that flight of fancy was the idea of a connection-speed upgrade that didn't increase my monthly bill. If I could replace the POTS line with DSL for $30-$40 per month, then DSL would make economic sense. If I could replace the combination of cell phone and POTS with a broadband connection that cost about the same as those two together, that would also be an economically neutral change. (The hitch there is that the connection would have to travel with me if it were to replace the cell phone functionality, which led to the expensive thought experiment.)
But now that you've got me thinking about it ... if I'm willing to give up the cell phone, putting DSL on top of my POTS line would mean I could use the landline for voice calls, so I'd still have voice connectivity. I'd just have to give up the ability to do be connected via voice and SMS when I'm out of the house. The mobile aspect wasn't the reason I got a cell phone in the first place, but I've gotten rather accustomed to having that. I need to sit down and seriously consider just how important having a cell phone is to me, and whether it would make more sense to spend that money on DSL instead.
(There's another aspect, since my cell phone is one of the prepaid plans. Right now, if I'm short on cash one month and run out of airtime, I just do without my phone until I can afford to buy more minutes. With a conventional cell plan (which would be cheaper per minute), or with DSL, spending that money wouldn't be flexible -- if I don't have the money to pay the monthly fee, I get late charges, nastygrams, and eventually termination of service that's more of a pain to re-establish than just buying a phone card at 7-11. If I had a steady income, then the idea of increasing my monthly phone bill by $30 probably wouldn't be a problem -- that's actually pretty cheap for just about everybody but me.)
(no subject)
My SSD and SSI total less than $600 a month so, trust me, I understand that one!