Dear Telcos, about our elderly......

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BarTender

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#2458976 10-Apr-2020 15:40

I would have moved them both to Mobile and cut the landline. The $16 Skinny Mobile plan should easily sort them out for the month. Would mean they don't have a local number anymore, but should give them plenty of minutes to talk.

kiwifidget

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#2458993 10-Apr-2020 16:10

BarTender:

I would have moved them both to Mobile and cut the landline. The $16 Skinny Mobile plan should easily sort them out for the month. Would mean they don't have a local number anymore, but should give them plenty of minutes to talk.

Thank you but they have an alarm which apparently requires a landline.

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halper86

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#2459051 10-Apr-2020 17:57

kiwifidget:

BarTender:

I would have moved them both to Mobile and cut the landline. The $16 Skinny Mobile plan should easily sort them out for the month. Would mean they don't have a local number anymore, but should give them plenty of minutes to talk.

Thank you but they have an alarm which apparently requires a landline.

That is the problem we are facing with my elderly great grandmother, she has a St John medical alarm and afaik they do not have a wireless alarm. She also has a cell phone that she has only used a few times however I am sure that she would use it if need be. Anyone on here know of any wireless medical alarms?

cisconz

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#2459106 10-Apr-2020 20:29

halper86:

That is the problem we are facing with my elderly great grandmother, she has a St John medical alarm and afaik they do not have a wireless alarm. She also has a cell phone that she has only used a few times however I am sure that she would use it if need be. Anyone on here know of any wireless medical alarms?

St John Medical alarms have sim cards in them, call St John and they will move them over.

Hmmmm

cisconz

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#2459107 10-Apr-2020 20:31

kiwifidget:

Thank you but they have an alarm which apparently requires a landline.

Most security companies will install a Cellular Modem in the alarm panel to convert it - normally a $5-10 premium but includes the cost of the cell plan.

Hmmmm

halper86

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#2459143 10-Apr-2020 22:44

cisconz:
halper86:

That is the problem we are facing with my elderly great grandmother, she has a St John medical alarm and afaik they do not have a wireless alarm. She also has a cell phone that she has only used a few times however I am sure that she would use it if need be. Anyone on here know of any wireless medical alarms?

St John Medical alarms have sim cards in them, call St John and they will move them over.

Thank you i will suggest this to her.
Off topic - have any of you here had spark send out a fwa modem for voice only customers eg. elderly parents?

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BarTender

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#2459279 11-Apr-2020 11:04

halper86:Thank you i will suggest this to her.
Off topic - have any of you here had spark send out a fwa modem for voice only customers eg. elderly parents?

Yes, I have heard of that. Or perhaps get on Spark/Skinny Jump depending on needs.

But the Spark FWV (Fixed Wireless Voice) with the smallest plan is probably the cheapest.

With health related stuff since there would be a reason why she she has an alarm then paying the uplift cost with St John is probably worth it. I would assume that the alarm has a battery backup since otherwise I would be looking to invest in a UPS for it all as well. Otherwise if you feel confident it is stable enough then Skinny Wireless on small plan + VoIP ATA + St Johns "could" work, but I know personally I wouldn't be recommending it due to many spinning parts that could break which should always be avoided for something that someones life depends on.

halper86

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#2459322 11-Apr-2020 12:12

BarTender:
halper86:Thank you i will suggest this to her.
Off topic - have any of you here had spark send out a fwa modem for voice only customers eg. elderly parents?

Yes, I have heard of that. Or perhaps get on Spark/Skinny Jump depending on needs.

But the Spark FWV (Fixed Wireless Voice) with the smallest plan is probably the cheapest.

With health related stuff since there would be a reason why she she has an alarm then paying the uplift cost with St John is probably worth it. I would assume that the alarm has a battery backup since otherwise I would be looking to invest in a UPS for it all as well. Otherwise if you feel confident it is stable enough then Skinny Wireless on small plan + VoIP ATA + St Johns "could" work, but I know personally I wouldn't be recommending it due to many spinning parts that could break which should always be avoided for something that someones life depends on.

Thanks,
I do understand that she is medical dependent and when these things don’t work it could be life threatening. She knows she needs to upgrade her equipment but we might keep it for the short term

nztim

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#2459598 11-Apr-2020 21:50

cisconz:

kiwifidget:

Thank you but they have an alarm which apparently requires a landline.

Most security companies will install a Cellular Modem in the alarm panel to convert it - normally a $5-10 premium but includes the cost of the cell plan.

You are assuming they live in an area where there is mobile phone coverage, my elderly relatives have little to none

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

cisconz

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#2460120 12-Apr-2020 19:32

BarTender:

With health related stuff since there would be a reason why she she has an alarm then paying the uplift cost with St John is probably worth it. I would assume that the alarm has a battery backup since otherwise I would be looking to invest in a UPS for it all as well. Otherwise if you feel confident it is stable enough then Skinny Wireless on small plan + VoIP ATA + St Johns "could" work, but I know personally I wouldn't be recommending it due to many spinning parts that could break which should always be avoided for something that someones life depends on.

The Medical alarm does have a battery built in, and "should" fail over to cellular automatically if the PSTN line is disconnected, the only reason to tell them is so it stops complaining that the line is disconnected.

When the alarm calls the call centre, it does a modem handshake to tell the call centre who is calling (Rather than relying on CallerID) so this puts most ATA's out from a reliability perspective.

nztim:

You are assuming they live in an area where there is mobile phone coverage, my elderly relatives have little to none

I was quoting in the context of moving to Mobile only as suggested further up.

Hmmmm

kiwifidget

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#2462102 15-Apr-2020 18:40

I had a weirdly pleasant and productive conversation with a Spark rep today.

Got one cellphone switched to Gold Talker for $22.99/mth, a reduction from the $29.99/mth it was costing. Increase from 150mins to unlimited mins to any NZ landline or mobile!!

Added Everyday National Calling for $14/mth. Free national calls up to 2hrs per call. Yes, I know the mobile covers that, but its battery wont last the distance.

Based on last months usage, this will save them $50-70/mth. Job done!

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JohnDunlop

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#2463785 16-Apr-2020 22:17

ajw:

Whats wrong with this cellphone plan with Spark.

https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/mobile-plans/gold-plans.html

Great plan - your link works but I could not get there using Spark website links. Am I clueless or is the 'GOLD' page hidden?

ajw

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#2463786 16-Apr-2020 22:19

JohnDunlop:

ajw:

Whats wrong with this cellphone plan with Spark.

https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/mobile-plans/gold-plans.html

Great plan - your link works but I could not get there using Spark website links. Am I clueless or is the 'GOLD' page hidden?

Just worked for me.

https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/mobile-plans/gold-plans.html

antonknee

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#2463800 16-Apr-2020 23:02

JohnDunlop:
ajw:

Whats wrong with this cellphone plan with Spark.

https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/mobile-plans/gold-plans.html

Great plan - your link works but I could not get there using Spark website links. Am I clueless or is the 'GOLD' page hidden?

It’s under Shop > Mobile plans > More > Gold Plans

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