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New communities and new developments don't even bother to pull phone lines anymore. Things are all run on what is commonly known as "broadband" or "digital lines" - for good reasons. Verizon, the biggest phone company in USA, is pushing people to get on "FiOS" - fiber optic network that combines internet, TV, and phone services. Same thing with other traditional internet-based broadband - they are invading the phone services. Really old communities may have what you would call "real" phone services, with old fashioned phone cables.

As for punching in numbers, again I don't know your issue here. I'm using "real phone" the way you do. I'm not using my computer or skype or call on a keyboard. It's what you would call "real" phone, with number pads and * and #. But unfortunately MPC can't recognize the numbers I key in, which all other companies have no problem recognizing (phone, credit card, AA, etc.)