Same features, less money per month, keep your phone number, why not switch now? Here's the difference, and the reasons you should STOP AND THINK, BEFORE YOU MAKE A MOVE!
I can count fingers on one hand, the number of times in the last 60 years that Ma Bell's phone didn't work. And two of those times were when my house was hit by lightning. Not the case with tv cable. When the electric goes out, so does the cable, so does my modem and my router. In this rural area, power failures are quite common. You say "I have a generator", great, but the cable amplifier up the street doesn't, so you are still out. And guess what, WHEN YOUR CABLE IS OUT, YOUR BROADBAND PHONE IS OUT TOO! We have been spoiled by the reliability of Ma Bell, Verizon, ATT, and the other telcos.
We can only hope we don't need an ambulance, a fire truck, or other emergency services, while our phone is out. One only has to read the blogs on Time Warner Cable, to see how many times cable service is down, or internet is not accessible. On top of that, you will have to go to the phone booth, down the street, to call customer service, or even to call the power company to tell them your electric is out.
Even with these things considered, BROADBAND PHONE SERVICE is still a BARGAIN! The voice quality is as good as Ma Bell's. But, DON'T jump in, unless you keep your regular phone for emergency calls. Just take off the long distance or have a cell phone available, as a back up, when your broadband phone service is out.