They got my wife mad so she spends hours fighting to get the bill reduced for the days out of service. 

I would expect all parts of the company are the same, SCREW the CUSTOMER. So be prepared to spend hours fighting or forget it.

Up here, you can KEEP your number ( had mine for 38 years....)

 Bell Canada got rid(well...decommissioned) all the 'direct wire' signal channels ( think 'extension cords' bewtween every central office as being 'noncompensatory' aka not a money maker. Odd, I was giving them $1500 a month back in '89 for a few of those wires.

I just left Trac-Fone couple days ago, had enough of the phone and them when I would have to call them up and spend hours trying to get my phone back online. and sometimes the phone would tell me to contact straight-talk...Oh well, I got put on under my nephews plan and kept my same number, but, dang telefunks, I have to learn a whole new set of quirks that T-mobile has.

Now, our Land line is going fiber and I told them I wanted to stay copper... but they got different ideas.  Last year they plowed in a fiber line to electric pole west of house, then a few weeks ago they sent a packet of papers with their want list and where all underground pipes and wires run, and where I want the fiber to be laid. 

 With a message that says, "Grantsburg Telcom Notice to Customers - Backup power solution for voice and telephone service over Fiber Cable" ... "A power backup system  is needed to provide dial tone with access to 911 services."  And if you want 911 or communications when lectric goes out, you need to give them 150, 250, 350 buck-a-roos for 8 hour, 16hour, or 24 hours of service.

 They went on to say, "If there is a loss of power at your home without a battery backup system in place, you will not have access to voice telephone service and 911 services. This system is not intended to backup your internet and cable television services."

  Oh great, more modernization gets, the more problems they create... and expenses.

   Was just thinking after having the old house phone number since the 60's, just put that on another cell phone and have it as a receiver and use it for the house and for internet/television, house phone and 911 and tell local land line 'Thanks but, Goodbye' and forget their 100 buck a month expense.

 

   We got rid of AT&T about 30 years ago, about the time government was going after ma Bell to break them up because of the monopoly that was said of what they were doing.

JC, I have  all three(TV, net, fone) through cable and yes, when power goes out none work. well fone will for maybe 5 minutes as the cable box has a small battery in it.

Course is someone knocks a pole down I have nothing as well....

The new neighbour(aka the 'contractor' went with Bell fiber. HE had to supply conduit from pole to house,HE had to run cable from pole to house ! yeah, somehow I got conned into supplying the needed 250' fish AND helping fish it in....

Up here we can KEEP our phone numbers, transfer them to whatever service we get.