Can I plug-in a house phone without buying any sort of service and still receive phone calls?

Question

I have a friend who lives in another country with a very different time zone so we only have time to talk during the daytime in my place..... the thing is, I only have a cell phone and it's taking way too many minutes. I was thinking of getting a house phone where I only *receive* phone calls from him....... if I bought a cheap regular house phone and plugged it in without buying any service from anyone, could I still receive calls from him?

Answer 1

No. A phone company would still be needed to actually activate the line You would have to pay rental on the line, and your friend would have to pay international rates to call you.

Answer 2

You're better off getting a VOIP system that plugs into your network or computer.  Magic Jack is only $20 a year, Teleblend is like $12 a month.

Answer 3

As long as your local phone company has not connected your phone line (the pair of wires you will use in your house) to their switch and associated this connection with a phone number you will not have any signal or dial tone.