I won't be giving up my landline. Too often we have extended power outages. A dear friend has U-verse for her telephone service and we have gone over the no power = no telephone service situation a number of times. She is often alone as her DH travels a lot and she does not have a cell. I recently sent her the following which was from the U-verse website and recommends having a cell or other service available:
<h2>Phone service during a power outage</h2>
The Wireless Gateway (WG) is located inside your house and uses electrical power to deliver all your U-verse services. The battery backup for the RG must be installed inside your house near the RG, and be easily accessible. The RG battery backup supplies power for your AT&T U-verse Voice service, it does not supply power for cordless phones (and it does not supply power for your network interface device or ONT, typically located on the outside of your home, which may also require battery-backup power for your AT&T U-verse Voice service to function).
If you have AT&T U-verse services (voice, high speed Internet, and/or TV), you must also have battery backup power for the Wireless Gateway for your AT&T U-verse services to function during a power outage. AT&T will not provide support for, or be responsible for, ongoing maintenance or management of equipment, including the initial RG battery backup unit or the initial ONT backup battery provided to AT&T U-verse Voice customers. If you have Internet Service, you must provide battery backup power for your computer, if you would like to have access to the Internet during a power outage. For example, your computer could be plugged into an Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS), available at certain home and electronics stores.
During a power outage, to conserve battery power for necessary AT&T U-verse Voice calls, DO NOT use any U-verse service other than AT&T U-verse Voice during the power outage. You should avoid making unnecessary calls and not use AT&T Internet service. AT&T recommends that you use a corded phone with AT&T U-verse Voice during a power outage. (Cordless phones require electrical power to work and may not be equipped with backup batteries). AT&T also recommends that you always have an alternative means of accessing 911 during a power outage, such as a cellular phone.
AT&T provides an initial RG battery backup unit, with an initial backup battery, for purchasers of AT&T U-verse Voice service. When equipped with a new, fully charged backup battery, it will provide approximately four hours of battery backup power. It takes approximately 18 hours to charge an initial backup battery after U-verse Voice is installed and/or after a replacement battery is installed at normal indoor temperatures. For battery-replacement and recycling information, please call Belkin at 866-539-5791, or <a title="Link opens in a new window" href="http://www.belkin.com/gatewaybattery" target="_blank">visit the Belkin website</a>.
Don't dwell on the past it can't be undone. One can, however, influence the future.