What happened to "long distance"?

Well I don't currently have it on my home phone. So what happened to it indeed?

They want me to move to a system where the home phones plug into a cellular box. The cost incentive looks appealing and it includes long distance as well as other features. I don't even have Caller ID right now.
 
Not only do we not have to worry so much about long distance phone calls since we have unlimited talk and text, there are also the apps that a person can use and make video calls to just about anywhere for free, as long as you have home WiFi or cell service.
We use iMessage for texting, and Facetime for both audio and video calls, and this works even with my daughter who is working in the Netherlands.
All we have to be concerned with is the time difference, but we can talk for hours if we want to do that.

I am one of those seniors that just LOVES technology, at least for the most part. It has really opened up my life to be able to be in contact with my family and friends, not to mention being able to search for anything online now.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
When I was a kid, you were never allowed to use the phone- OMG!! you could have made 'long distance' calls. Even when I got my learner's permit, if I was on the phone, "It better not be long distance". Today. I can direct dial Guam. What happened to "long distance"?
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Thanks to digital leaps and bounds, the world of telephone/internet communications got smaller.

I get on Skype with my two friends and we do video calls for free. The connections are so good it's as if they're in the next room.

PS in my family, the expression was "International Calls" for the phone calls. Long-distance was went we travelled on the road, either by car, train or aeroplane. Just FYI🙃
 
fuzzybuddy said:
When I was a kid, you were never allowed to use the phone- OMG!! you could have made 'long distance' calls. Even when I got my learner's permit, if I was on the phone, "It better not be long distance". Today. I can direct dial Guam. What happened to "long distance"?
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Also, what about Reverse charge calls?.. OMG if we made a reverse charge call one of us had to be dying, or there is no way they would have accepted the call.

I just discovered we can STILL make reverse charge calls in the UK>. not sure tho' if that's just landlines or mobiles as well..
 
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Well my dopey cellphone can dial out, but no one on the other end can hear me. Thank goodness I still have a landline. At least I could call the dentist to get my tooth repaired. Did all the suggested fixes, even installed a new microphone module, no fixee. Took it to cell phone company. "Get a new phone for a few dolla more." Thanks. The thing is only two years old. It's not like I wore the receiver out either. Just one day I made a rare call on it and no one could hear me. Thanks a lot S*****g. S*****g means three star. I give it one star because I can still send and receive text...and dumb stuff from Snapchat.
 
From our landline we can make LD calls in Canada and to the US. We rarely call the US so this cheap plan was fine for us. It’s unlimited across Canada. On our cell phones, which are on a business plan, it’s unlimited calling in Canada but not to the US. Canada has some of the most overpriced cell service in the world.
 
hollydolly said:
Also, what about Reverse charge calls?.. OMG if we made a reverse charge call one of us had to be dying, or there is no way they would have accepted the call.

I just discovered we can STILL make reverse charge calls in the UK>. not sure tho' if that's just landlines or mobiles as well..
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People used to make collect calls (as they were called here in the Colonies) and give a pre-arranged fake name so that the person receiving the call would refuse it and call them back, which was cheaper.

The joke was that you'd get a call and the operator would say "Collect call from Mr. Itsagirlsevenpoundssixounces" or "Collect call from Mr. Trainarrivesatninepickmeup" and you'd turn to your husband and say, "Oh, nice, they had a girl this time" or "Your brother is coming in at nine. Take him to a hotel....that drunken idiot isn't staying here!"
 

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