Cheapest Incoming-Only Phone Service? (Westchester, NY) ?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. I just moved to a building that requires a local phone number for the door-intercom system to work. Everyone knows my old (cell) phone number, and I have no reason to change it or stop using it, and I have no need for any home telephone service other than my cell phone, but I need a local number. So I'm wondering: what's the cheapest way to get a local phone number which will forward to my cell?

A. Like telco's (non-subscriber) service where any old phone can be plugged into the place on the wall where the phone plugs in, **no actual phone number is needed** since telco (or the private contractor) provides battery as needed to operate the phone when it gets called from the door. So if your building has one of those two types of service (Enter/Interphone) don't bother with calling telco to get phone service; just plug some cheap phone into the jack; it will ring as needed and allow talking as needed for the front door intercom function. When there is not someone at the door talking to you, the phone will otherwise be dead. In any event (Enter or Inter) **call forwarding will not work**. Contractor's box won't do it and telco won't provide it, mainly for security reasons. So find out from your new landlord **what kind** of front door intercom service they have. If it is 'cheap' you want then you may be able to get by just plugging a dead phone into a modular jack and letting the front door do its own thing (types one and two above). If you have to have an *actual phone number* (as in type three) then bear in mind the front door will be as limited as the cheap phone service is. If your line is busy (cheap phones do not get call waiting) then the front door will get a busy signal also, and this 'cheap phone you never use since everyone has your cell phone' may turn out to be sort of expensive as you install call waiting (to pamper the front door) and call waiting to forward everyone else (but hopefully not a bad guy burglar, etc) to your cell phone when you are away from home. If you are dealing with type three above and absolutely must get a working phone number from telco, then I would say never give the number out to anyone (the people who matter would have your cell phone anyway). Just let the phone sit there idly 99 percent of the time. At this point you probably know more about Front Door Intercom Service than most landlords and building managers. Oh, and regards repairs: standard telco contracts on these devices call for a *thirty minute* repair time turnaround if/when the front door intercom goes out of order. Various reasons; all the pairs from central office to the building and the jumpers, etc are *supposed to be dedicated and plainly marked in the c.o.* and in the building basement, but it is not uncommon to get a dorkus installer tech who rips off pairs in older neighborhoods, nor is it uncommon for the cellanoids unlatching the front door to go bad, and telco understands it is a rush/24 hour per day repair job. Hopefully private contractors sense the urgency also. If the landlord does not understand what kind of front door intercom system he has, then try plugging in a dead phone to a jack first and see if it works; if it does then all is cool. Some of them say 'oh, you gotta have a phone to make the door work' and they don't really know what they are saying. Then get back to us as needed.

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