This is an area that focuses on "Covert Communications," however this topic seems to be appropriate to this area, though not technically being covert. The service is from www.voip.ms. You'd buy an ATA Device, an Analog Telephone Adapter) that connect over the Internet to one of VOIP.ms' Points of Presence across North America. The fun thing is that this type of landline is portable. I have one in my room at my place, but if I'm going to visit family and friends I can bring this very small device to wherever I'm visiting and have it work just fine.

What is required is an old style telephone, such as a basic $20 small phone, a telephone cable (RJ-11), and an Ethernet cable. The VOIP box is connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable and the phone is connected to the VOIP box. So anywhere that has an Ethernet port can be turned into a landline phone. When I say landline I mean something that works just like a vintage landline with the difference being that it works wherever an Ethernet port can be found. You can find such ports at schools, workplaces, libraries, or even through StarLink's satellite network. Any place that has an active Ethernet port is a place where you can plug your phone into.

Furthermore, if you use the GrandStream HT-802 as the VOIP hardware you can select an uncompressed codec which will allow you to hook a hardware external modem into the VOIP device without the degradation found on cell phones due to the lossy codec used on those devices. So you'd replace the vintage phone with a vintage POTS modem and have a portable FAX line, or a portable modem connection.

The GrandStream HT802 costs $75 CAD
The phone cord costs $10 CAD
The Ethernet cable costs $12 CAD
The vintage phone costs $25 CAD
The USRobotics v92/v90 External Hardware Modem costs $100 (new) or $30 used
The RS232 (serial) to USB cable $15 CAD (postscript: only buy an FTDI codec The small coverter that converts DB25 to DB9 plug $10 CAD

And there you have it, your very own portable landline to do whatever landlines can do. w00t!!

Cheers mates!
-warmfuzzy

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: thE qUAntUm wOrmhOlE, rAmsgAtE, uK. bbs.erb.pw (700:100/37)

Not following why the VOIP to POTS converter is needed?

Maybe for the modem use?

OOMA is similar, and I've used it for a while. I replaced a very unreliable Frontier aDSL service with a private fiber option, and OOMA ported our old
(and published) landline number into their VOIP product.

I've also used several private VOIP (read "Astrix rebranded") systems and have a Sangoma Talk VoIP softphone for work purposes.

There are others.

(I am using some repurposed VOIP hardware and some new Polycom stuff. With OOMA I am using their POP-Box and simply plugged our handsfree basestation into that. Didn't miss a beat.)

... I wish life had a scroll-back buffer.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: thE qUAntUm wOrmhOlE, rAmsgAtE, uK. bbs.erb.pw (700:100/37)