Alright folks, here’s the scenario:
- Our Google-branded Android phones are dying; different components just wear out, such as “makes no sound” or “does not charge”
- Calls from the Northern to Southern California may or may not be long distance (AT&T provides an Excel file with macros (
) to determine [ZUM-123_Information.xlsm (609.2 KB), via https://www.att.com/support/article/local-long-distance/KM1069570], which I can’t get working), which would be ~$70 a month for the ability to make local and long distance calls (otherwise we’d get charged by the minute, which would cost more for us) - There are no other landline providers for our location (all others are phone/internet/cable packages)
- The Librem 5 costs $750, out of our budget
- The PinePhone is $150, but is hobbyist hardware, not reliable for all our use cases (see below)
- They don’t sell the Fairphone in my part of the world, but it probably also out of our budget
- We connect to the internet over a wireless hub (from Calyx) that connects to the mobile network, so VOIP is not reliable; fortunately, we’ve been unable to join video calls during the pandemic, due to connection issues
Okay, here are the use case:
- I need to talk to clients for work
- We need to call folks long distance, particularly family
@susan and I are tired to collecting batteries with broken Android devices wrapped around them. We’re tired of giving money to companies that make disposable electronics.
Because of where we live, lacking the capacity for a physical connection from our home to a facility where it joins the network, we don’t have many options available to us. I need your help figuring out options. 