My primary reason for getting a cell phone and having a carrier with decent coverage outside of my immediate area is the lack of pay phones should I break down on the road or have some other emergency. I really hate to see those things go away.
Although we don't have a contract, I have cell phones with a carrier to satisfy my wife. She is uneasy about change, and I had to have a cell phone because of my pr3evious life. If it were only my choice now, I would have a "disposable" phone. I would still keep my landline though.
I picked up a full Verizon plan because of my last job, where I got discounts that I kept for the first few years into my retirement. For now I'm kinda stuck with them because I get my internet through Verizon (satellite being my only alternative.) In the aggregate, it's the most cost-effective thing to do. On my Plan, unlimited internet cost $20/month with 15gb guaranteed high speed. I added a second $20 account to get an additional 15gb high speed way cheaper than buying extra high speed GB on the first account. I only pay $20/account because of the Plan I have. Out my way, Verizon owns the land lines, which they "repair" by installing wireless receivers and tying them into the home's wired infrastructure (so you continue to use your corded phones.) My landline goes out often because it's a 1/2 mile run down the right-of-way (as is the case with so many out this way), so there are several points-of-failure that the wireless receivers don't have. I often fix it myself (usually bugs have made a home at each connecting point.) I have been on that landline with Verizon when my cell service has gone out, and had the rep actually try to convince me to convert it to cell . I reminded her that "timing is everything" in sales. When my electric company finishes running fiber internet to my house I'll be looking at my options, to include taking my land# to a VOIP provider (Verizon costs $30/month.) I just gotta be careful regarding cell coverage. I get a strong Verizon signal everywhere in my house and my entire property (wooded gullies excepted.) That is the exception out my way. Many folks have a few "live spots" they stand when they want to use their cell phones, while others get no cell signal at all. I don't know what I'll do. I'm not inclined to trust a competitor's sales guy who tells me "You'll be fine" when switching to their network...and there's no real way to test before buying.
My reception has gotten better over time. It used to be I had to walk up the hill to in front of the neighbors house to get reception on my cell, or up the hill in front of my daughters house in Vermont. Then I could use it in my house if I stood in front of the hall closet or in the doorway to the dining room or at the furthest point of my back deck! Depended on the time of day. ????? But now, I get calls even when sitting at my kitchen table.
I have had three disposable phones. One, I dropped into the toilet. One is somewhere in my hay mow and now my $4 flip phone which has been with me since I bought it.
Did you get WiFi internet in your house? I understand that phones can communicate through WiFi internet as well as directly with a cell tower, if your phone and cell provider each have the capability to do so (although perhaps not likely with a flip phone.) That might account for the increased signal strength you're seeing throughout your house. Regarding losing a phone in the hay: I've lost me cell phone a few times when on the tractor cutting my grass. Fortunately I was able to find it before hearing it "PING!* out from my mower deck. That's one reason I finally broke down and got a watch phone. From now on, the cell phone stays in the house.
Most "smart" phones can make WIFI calls, and even newer flip phones. I switched from a flip to a regular smart phone, but I wish I had stayed with the flip phone. It would be more appropriate for my use.
I'm the same way. I rarely make calls, and don't use my phone to get on the web. I DO use the Walmart app when I'm in the store and shopping elsewhere, but that's the extent of it. My phones have had as much unrealized capabilities as someone's top-end PC they only play solitaire on. The main reason I hung onto the technology is so I could use a SmartWatch as my Life Alert device. And at the $30/month monitor fees, the price gap is pretty narrow. But there's still all that unused capacity.
When I recently visited my son in Indianapolis, he had the worst WIFI I have experienced in decades. I would've thought that the connections in a major metro area would be great, but not so. He had just transferred from Omaha where he had a T-Mobile internet connection, which he said was great. He kept that in Indianapolis and it was truly crappy. He switched to a local cable provider and his internet improved remarkably the day before we left.... The only time we really use data on our phone is when we cannot use a WIFI connection, and the two weeks in Indianapolis we relied on our cells, as the WIFI was so bad as to be practically unusable.
I had T-Mobile as my first carrier when I lived outside of DC, I got great local coverage. But when I would leave that area to go on vacation, I got no coverage. The dearth of pay phones kinda makes wide-spread cell coverage a necessity. When my employer offered Verizon discounts, I made the switch. Regional technology is funny. My sister moved to New Jersey when she got married, and they had cable tv for 20 years or more before it became available in Northern Virginia. It was mind-boggling to experience. Regarding Indianapolis: I can't imagine that level of poor service you experienced in any state capital these days. That's a good example of why I'm hesitant to switch from Verizon...not all carriers share the same infrastructure, and coverage maps are better suited for brochures than they are contracts. My current rural area is so dispersed that we were among the last to get 4g, and will be among the last to get 5g (which is actually fine with me.) I've likely mentioned that I know people here who have never had (and never will have) internet service or an email account...sometimes due to a lack of infrastructure, but many times by choice. It boggles the 21st century mind.
I'm looking to get rid of the physical landline and go to an internet-based phone service so I can keep that phone number but save some bucks. The Verizon folks said that I might be able to do that over my wireless internet depending on how strong the signal is. I should have done this a long time ago. I don't care about actually using the thing, I just want to keep that non-cell phone number. As long as the signal is strong enough to get it set up, it can gather dust forever as far as I'm concerned. I got so lucky when I happened to buy this house. Life would be very different without the cell service and all the things that happened to work out. As my mother used to say, God looks after babies and fools. Yup.
I agree with your mother and have said the same thing. I kept the landline as I worry about power outages, emp's, all the nutty conspiracy things...But then, I guess, who would I call if I had it and no one else did. Fewer and fewer of my friends still have it. I think our phone book will be 3 pages long. But I also don't like the feeling of being rounded up and herded into a thing instead of choosing it.