Home phone options for elderly parent

My 80yo mother lives on her own and she has an old-school home phone line with Telstra, it gives her piece of mind. She pays $45 per month for the privilege (supposedly the full price is $55 so maybe she gets a pensioner discount). In recent months, Telstra have had a number of outages, this month she has not had service for about 17-18 days. In short, the service is now unreliable, possibly deliberately so, and I’m guessing the outages will continue.

She does not have a computer and has no need for home internet. She has an iPhone 6S but is not very competent with it. It seems like nbn is being forced upon her. If she was more competent with the mobile phone, I’d suggest she solely relies on that, forgoes the home phone, and does not get nbn.

Does anyone else have an elderly parent who has no need for home internet? What is their setup?

something like this seems promising

What technology would your Mum’s address be on NBN with? If it’s fibre then there’s the potential for a battery backup.
Also, if she’s at that age and living alone, she really should be set up as a Priority Assistance customer - this would mean (IIRC from my past employ with Telstra) that such outages would be fixed faster and interim services offered.
Priority assistance service | ACMA is a good starting point to determine her eligibility for this.

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My concern is the reliance on the mobile network. Pretty reliable these days except for when there’s an outage. However if it runs on a different network than her iPhone that might be OK for covering your bases.

If you’re willing to go with a cellular connection there is the option for something like this, a cordless handset that connects to a mobile via Bluetooth:

This one is US, but reflects the sort of thing I’m talking about;

Tape any old mobile under the table since all you need is bluetooth, grab a cheap SIM with unlimited calling and away you go. Since you don’t need data there are some very cheap plans like Woolworths Mobile, Aldi, Amzysim etc etc. Long life plans might be the cheapest option too, although month to month also works.

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If she has the Telstra Smart Modem 2, then I understand that Telstra can include a SIM to provide a back up service over the mobile network if the NBN goes down. This may allow her to continue to use a normal home phone handset.

I am not a Telstra customer. Maybe someone else can confirm if this is so.

Thanks for the advice, I will have a look. My mother worked for Telstra for 20+ years until the late 1990s, you think that should count for something!

If she does not have the smart modem gen 2 or its successor, then you should ask for one. They should do it for free given her service to the company.

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https://www.seniorsphones.com.au/phones.html#bigbuttonJust needs a 4G SIM card. Seems like a good option.

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My parents have been with Telstra for 30+ years (back into the Telecom days) but that apparently means nothing. The equivalent service from Aussie Broadband, Optus and TPG is $6 a month cheaper than what they’re paying with Telstra now so I tried to negotiate with them to either price match the competitors or throw in a Telstra Smart modem (and also was trying to get a refund for 9 months of Foxtel now that they got charged for despite not signing up for it). They said the Foxtel wasn’t their fault and that they couldn’t go any cheaper because “their service is superior” (lol what a joke), couldn’t throw in a new modem (current one is an old 5 year old Telstra one).

When pushed harder as “an act of good faith” they offered a credit to cover 4.5 months of the Foxtel charge, but nothing else. Threatened with the ombudsman, they did credit the rest of the charges, but no budging on the plan or modem. So once we’ve burnt through the credit on the account, we’ll move to Aussie Broadband probably.

Telstra is so overpriced, especially for mobile plans. The only advantage is their network, but you can get that from Aldi Mobile anyway. We don’t get good Telstra reception in our block, so we are with Optus, who are soooooo much cheeper than Telstra (in part because of discounts from being Virgin users) and have much better customer service!

Fixed - Aldi Mobile and any other Telstra MVNO (reseller) use a segmented part of the network known as the Telstra Wholesale network.
It’s my recollection that up until a few years ago the TW network was a very close approximation of the Optus network in terms of coverage. All except for Boost, who while they are a separate entity, they operate within Telstra’s billing system as a separate brand, but with customer service provided by Telstra-engaged staff or subcontracted staff, with access to the full Telstra network and receive the same network coverage as a Telstra customer. I have no idea how they actually make money, I’m sure the profit margins must be very slim given that Telstra are effectively operating another company’s brand for them.

Ah I didn’t realise that!

I have my mobile for my business on Aldi Mobile, but I don’t go to remote places so I wouldn’t notice!

I called Telstra and have got my Mum on the $27 Essential Plan (below) which is only available for those with a Seniors Card. Still on copper wire, they suggested to stay put for the time being but implied that the time would come when she would have to go nbn or some alternative. So I will see how things go for the next 2-3 months and re-evaluate in December.

https://www.telstra.com.au/help/critical-information-summaries/personal/home-phone/telstra-home-phone-plans/home-phone-essential

I don’t believe that that specific phone has the option for a SIM card, however some of the other phones on the page do.

It was the first one on the page… I should have left off the #bigbutton hash.

OUR LATEST MODEL … 4G VOLTE FIXED WIRELESS PHONE

NO NBN OR TELSTRA LINE REQUIRED

4G VOLTE FIXED WIRELESS PHONE

RUNS ON ANY 4G SIM BUT USE THE SAME AS YOUR OLD CORDED PHONE

A HOME CORDED PHONE YOU JUST PLUG INTO A POWER POINT

NO PLANS, NO PHONE LINE, NO NBN…IDEAL FOR AGED CARE

THREE EASY HANDS FREE FAMILY NUMBERS PLUS 8 EXTRA SPEED DIAL NUMBERS CLEAR LOUD ADJUSTABLE VOLUME

GREAT FOR THE OFFICE - 2 SIP LINES

NEW & IMPROVED FEATURES

  • 2.4"colour display screen
  • 3 Family Easy Call numbers One touch) plus 8 Speed Dials
  • Sim card means lower call rates. Ask us about unlimited calls for $10 per month
  • Hands free Speaker Phone
  • WiFi Hotspot max to 8 WiFi users
  • FM Radio, SMS, Calculator, Calendar, Alarm, World clock
  • Unlocked use any network / provider
  • Voicemail
  • Android system, HD Voice
  • Rechargeable battery when power fails
  • Large contact phone book
  • multi party support 2 SiP lines
  • Dimension 205 x 185 x 70 mm
  • Includes User Manual and Australian Standard Charger
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