Home/Telephone

Home Phone Service

A home phone from Mid-Rivers Communications provides you with a secure & reliable connection to the world.

  • Enjoy your conversations with a clear sound quality

  • Ensure a rapid response in an emergency with E-911 calling

  • Talk as long as you like, with unlimited local and Mid-Rivers to Mid-Rivers calling

  • Peace of mind knowing that you will have a secure line even in a power outage

Favorite Plans

Ultimate Home Phone

  • 200 Minutes Long Distance
  • Unlimited Local Calling
  • Unlimited Mid-Rivers to Mid-Rivers Calling
  • Inside Wire Maintenance
  • All our most popular Calling Features
  • Requires Paperless & EFT

$45.95/mo

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Basic Home Phone

  • Robocall Blocking
  • Unlimited Local Calling
  • Unlimited Mid-Rivers to Mid-Rivers Calling

$35.00/mo

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Long Distance

Per Minute Plan

With the per-minute plan call will be charge at the rate of $0.20 per minute Monday-Saturday. Sundays and holidays will be charged at $0.10 per minute.

Minute Plans

  • 200 Minute Plan – $24.99
  • 400 Minute Plan – $49.99
  • 600 Minute Plan – $74.99/Month
  • 800 Minute Plan – $99.99/month
  • 1200 Minute Plan – $149.99/month
  • 2500 Minute Plan – $312.00/month – must have at least 5 lines

Calling Features

Anonymous Call Rejection sends those pesky callers that have blocked their caller ID information from being transmitted to an announcement stating you do not accept calls from anonymous callers and they should unblock their number and call back.

After subscribing to the service, activate the Anonymous Call Rejection service by pressing *77. To allow all calls to be received including those with blocked numbers simply turn the service off by pressing *87.

Choose where your phones will be answered when you are away. Call forwarding automatically forwards your calls to another location when you plan to be away from your telephone or you do not wish to receive any calls. Please note that you – not the originating party – are billed for any toll charges when the forward-to number is outside your local calling area.

Mid-Rivers offers three types of call forwarding:

Call forwarding by ring count to fixed number after (X) rings

With this option, the forward-to number, and number of rings before the call is forwarded, are selected by you and permanently programmed by Mid-Rivers. Forwarding is automatic if your phone is not answered after the indicated number of rings.

Fixed call forwarding to a fixed number

With this option, the forward-to number has been selected by you and permanently programmed into Mid-Rivers’ equipment.

  • To activate this feature, dial *72, and you will get voice confirmation repeating back the number that the calls will forward to. Your phone will now ring at the number you designated.
  • To deactivate this feature, dial *73, wait 4 seconds for a dial tone, then hang up. Your normal service is restored.

Variable call forwarding to any number

With this feature, you select the forward-to number when you activate call forwarding.

  • To activate this feature, dial *72, wait for the stutter dial tone, then dial the 10 Digit or 1+10 Digit forward-to number. Once you dial your number you will get a voice confirmation repeating back the number you just entered. The called number is stored and call forwarding is activated. If you wish to call the “call forwarded to number,” wait another 4 seconds and the call will be placed.
  • To deactivate this feature, dial *73 and wait 4 seconds for 2 tones, then hang up. Normal service is restored.

For fixed and variable call forwarding, your telephone briefly rings when a call is forwarded. This indicates the forwarding feature is activated and also reminds you to deactivate the forwarding, if desired. With fixed and variable call forwarding you cannot answer your phone until you deactivate the forwarding feature, but you can place calls.

Are you tired of people calling you and hanging up before you can answer the phone? With Call Return you have the ability to return a call to the party that called you without knowing their telephone number. Please note that long distance charges may apply. To use, press *69 and the last incoming call will be dialed. To cancel the call simply press *89.

Tired of getting calls from a few select telephone numbers? Call Screening allows you to input a list of up to 6 phone numbers that you prefer not to receive calls from. Incoming calls from the selected phone numbers are sent to a recording stating you are not taking calls at this time. You can deactivate the service and receive calls from the selected phone numbers if you desire.

After subscribing to the Call Screening service, activate the screening feature by pressing *60. To allow calls from the selected phone numbers press *60 and then 3.

Call Waiting allows you to know that someone is calling you while you are in the middle of another phone call. Call Waiting will inform you whenever another caller is trying to contact you. You can answer the incoming call and talk privately with that caller while the original caller is placed temporarily on hold. With Call Waiting all calls can get through, like having two lines. You can even alternate between the two callers.

After subscribing to the service, if someone tries to call you while you are on another call, you hear a call waiting alert tone. Depress and release your phone’s hook-switch or flash button to put the original party on hold. You are then connected to the second caller.

To alternate between the calls, depress and release the hook-switch or flash button. Each conversation between you and either of the other callers is kept private from the other party.

  • If you wish to end the original conversation when you hear the call waiting tone, simply hang up. Your telephone rings and you can pick it up to be connected to the new caller.
  • If a third party calls while you are using call waiting, he or she will receive a busy signal.
  • To cancel call waiting, remove the handset from the cradle, and dial *70. This deactivates the call waiting feature. Dial your desired party’s number. Please note, this procedure cancels call waiting for this call only. Once you hang up, call waiting is automatically restored.

Caller ID provides the name and phone number of an incoming call on your Caller ID display. You can also see who is calling you while you are on the phone utilizing Call Waiting.

  • If someone else tries to call you, their name and phone number will appear on your caller ID device. Callers who have non-published numbers or have blocked their information will not be displayed.
  • Subscribers to both caller ID and Call Waiting will be able to see who is calling while they are using the phone. To switch to the new incoming call, simply use the same steps as you would for Call Waiting.

Robocall Blocking automatically prevents unwanted robocalls so they don’t ever reach your phone. When Robocall Blocking is enabled on your line, unwanted callers will hear a message stating, “We’re sorry. The party you have dialed is not accepting calls at this time.” This feature is enabled for all Mid-Rivers landline customers by default at no additional charge and works automatically. You may contact us at any time to opt out of this feature.

Using third party “reputation data” on calling party numbers, our equipment makes the determination of whether to block a call or not.  Databases are constantly updating in real time based on several information streams (including publicly available lists, real-time calling patterns, and user reports of unwanted calling party numbers), and can react within minutes of a new unwanted calling party number starting to be used. Customers can expect a significant proportion of unwanted calls to be blocked, including political campaigns, charities, and fraudulent calls such as IRS scams. While the service may not block 100% of unwanted calls, it will significantly reduce the number that get through. The service is carefully designed not to block calls from high-volume callers that you still need to receive, like mass announcements from schools or calls from hospitals to confirm appointments.

Some calls may show on your Caller ID as “Potential Spam” followed by a phone number. You can choose to ignore these calls, let the caller leave a message, or answer the call if it is a familiar or expected number.

Mid-Rivers’ Robocall Blocking service includes access to a website that allows telephone subscribers to report a robocall that is a nuisance or fraudulent. You can also report calls that have been blocked or marked as spam that are legitimate calls.

To combat unwanted & illegal robocalls customers can submit information about a suspected robocall or spoofing to https://www.fcc.gov/enforcement/private-entity-robocall-spoofing-portal.

Enterprises like hospitals and schools can also register your calling profile to help validate the classification of calls you are making. If you are concerned that your legal calls are being blocked or marked as spam, you can go to this site to help validate the classification of your business telephone numbers. We encourage customers who are making legal mass calls to proactively manage your caller reputation by also registering at https://www.freecallerregistry.com/fcr.

The opposite of Call Screening, Special Call Acceptance allows you to create a list of up to 6 numbers that you do want to accept calls from. Only your selected 6 phone numbers will be allowed through.

After subscribing to the Special Call Acceptance, activate the service by pressing *64. To allow only calls from the selected phone numbers, press *64 and then 3.

Speed dialing, or abbreviated dialing, lets you store 8 or 30 telephone numbers in a speed dial list and place calls to any number in your list by dialing only one or two digits. Speed dialing is available in two forms; one allows you to change the codes from your telephone, and the other requires Mid-Rivers to pre-establish the codes for the numbers you indicate. The 8-number option uses the digits 2 through 9 to store the speed dial numbers. The 30-number option uses the digits 20 through 49 to store the speed dial numbers. Programming your speed dial list is accomplished in the following manner:

If you have 8-number speed dial service:

  • Dial *74 and then #
  • Dial a single digit (between 2 and 9) to assign a code for the phone number you are storing.
  • Dial the phone number that will be assigned to the code selected in Step 2. Dial # and when you hear 3 tones, hang up.
  • Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each number you wish to store, using a different code for each phone number. If you decide to replace a number, repeat steps 1 through 3 using the code number you are reassigning.
  • To use speed dialing after numbers are coded in: With the phone off the hook, dial the selected code number and # for the call to be placed.

If you have 30-number speed dial service:

  • Dial *75 and then #
  • Dial a 2-digit number (between 20 and 49) to assign a code for the phone number you are storing.
  • Dial the phone number that will be assigned to the code selected in Step 2. Dial # and when you hear 3 tones, hang up.
  • Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each number you wish to store, using a different code for each phone number. If you decide to replace a number, repeat steps 1 through 3 using the code number you are reassigning.
  • To use speed dialing after numbers are coded in: With the phone off the hook, dial the selected code number and # for the call to be placed.

Three-way calling allows you to add a third participant to a call you are having with someone else. If either party hangs up after the three-way call is established, you are still connected to the remaining party.

  • To initiate 3-way calling, first establish or receive a call with one party, then press and release the hook-switch (or press the flash button) to put the original party on hold. Listen for 3 tones followed by a steady (normal) dial tone.
  • Dial the number of the third party. When this person answers, you can talk privately. When you are ready to connect all 3 lines, press and release the hook-switch (or press the flash button).
  • When the originating party hangs up, all parties are disconnected and the call is completed.
  • If the third party does not answer or the line is busy, depress and release the hook-switch (or press the flash button) and you will be connected to your original party.

Voicemail works like an answering machine but without extra equipment, and it will also take a message if someone calls while you are already on the phone. Mid-Rivers voicemail is menu-driven. Listen to the prompts and then press the keys on your phone to select the option you would like. The first time you enter your voicemail, you will need establish a PIN number and record a new greeting. You can also follow the prompts for other mailbox options.

To access your voicemails, Dial 406-XXX-0808, where the XXX is your local phone prefix (for instance, if your telephone number is 555-1234, your prefix is 555). You will then be prompted to enter your voicemail PIN. You will then be provided with prompts to listen to, save and/or delete messages. After all messages have been played, you will be returned to the main menu, or you can simply hang up to end the call.

To access your voicemail while you’re away from your home, call your home number from another line and wait for it to reach your VM greeting message. Press * when you hear your greeting. You will be prompted to enter your pin number followed by the # sign and then taken immediately to your Voicemail Menu.

Additional Resources

Directory Listings

Your name is automatically added to our white pages when you have a phone installed, unless you request a non-published number. Directory listings help your friends and neighbors find you more easily.

Every effort is made to make Mid-Rivers’ directory as accurate as possible. If you spot an error, please advise the Mid-Rivers main office at (406) 485-3301, or e-mail us at customerservice@midrivers.coop so the listing can be corrected in future directories.

Montana Relay

Montana Relay makes it possible to make phone calls between a standard telephone and a text telephone, of the kind used by Montanans who are Deaf, severely hard of hearing, or who have a speech disability. An operator will “translate” between the two different phones, speaking aloud whatever is typed, so the standard phone user can hear it, and typing whatever is said, so the text telephone user can read it. Visit the Montana Relay Website for more information.

Montana Telecommunications Access Program

The mission of the Montana Telecommunications Access Program (MTAP) is to improve the quality of life for all Montanans through education, innovation, and technology by enhancing communications options. Visit the MTAP Website for more information.

Call Blocking Complaints

Mid-Rivers is committed to fighting against illegal robocalls while ensuring that important legal calls can get through. For call blocking error complaints, and to verify the authenticity of calls, please contact VoiceENG@midrivers.coop. We also encourage customers who are making legal mass calls to proactively manage your caller reputation by registering at https://www.freecallerregistry.com/fcr.