Do you still have a home phone? With more people using cell phones as their primary means of communication, several are cutting the cord on their home phones (landlines).
The economy may also be a factor for some when deciding to ditch their landlines. Why pay for a service you never use?
A report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics said for the first time Americans are spending more for cellphones than landlines. The report said 55 percent of all consumer telephone expenses in 2007 were for cellphones, while landlines accounted for 43 percent, with the remaining 2 percent went mostly to pagers and phone cards.
"People growing up now, many of them have never bought a landline," said Carl Howe, director of Anywhere Consumer Research at The Yankee Group in Boston. "But they often don't own houses. They tend to be out more. As that group ages into a demographic with homes, kids in school, carpooling, they may change their mind. The younger demographic just doesn't see the need. They consider it quaint." [Source: The Boston Globe]In addition to using cellphones, many are turning to VoIP (Internet phone services) like Vonage or Skype.
I'm working on a story about this topic and if you dropped your landline in favor of your cell phone or VoIP, I'd like to talk to you. You can contact me at cjcastillo@vicad.com or at 580-6516.
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I still have a landline at home since I needed it to process credit card transactions--I am a consultant, it's how I get paid. Recently I switched (at a higher per-transaction cost) to online processing instead. This allows me to process invoice payments from anywhere as opposed to having to travel home to do it. So, I'm definitely thinking of getting rid of the land-line altogether.
For my business, however, I am a GotVMail fan. When someone calls for me at my business number, I receive a notification on my cell phone where it is being forwarded. If I don't answer and they leave a message, I receive the message, again, wherever I am in the world, as an audio clip attachment in my regular email inbox. I absolutely love this!
[I'm actually thinking of routing personal calls this way too. Hmm...the possibilities!]
March 20, 2009 at 11:02 a.m.I use mobile phones. I have 3 different mobile numbers, and have not had a land line in 5+ years.
February 28, 2009 at 6:16 a.m.Thanks for your comments all!
I also do not have a landline. We dropped it a few years ago. Tried Vonage for a while but then we found we didn't use that much either.
February 25, 2009 at 3:46 p.m.Land lines are lame. They are a waste of money. The only people calling land lines are telemarketers. So no, no land line.
February 25, 2009 at 3:16 p.m.I haven't had a land line in over 10 years. About the only reason I can see to even have a land line is for a home security system.
February 25, 2009 at 2:38 p.m.I've never had a landline and don't plan on ever getting one. :)
February 25, 2009 at 2:20 p.m.The only thing I miss about not having a landline is not being able to give that number out on papers I fill out when I don't want to be called.
February 25, 2009 at 12:12 p.m.I still like my landline. Of course it has its own base and 3 plugins so the phones are everywhere. One son has only cells and blackberry. The other has both because of his abuse of mom's generosity. He has call and receive only on the cell; all of the download stuff is blocked. The darling newlyweds ran up two months of 600+ phone bills before I called the service, and told them I was flying up to collect a phone. It was actually cheaper to do this, than put up with all of the nonsense. They were quite shocked when I said to hand it over. Tears and promises and limited service straightened both of them out and fast.
February 25, 2009 at 11:53 a.m.I have not had a landline in more than a year, and don't miss it.
February 25, 2009 at 10:57 a.m.I still have a landline, I hate my cell phone! I just can't stand the fact that I can be found wherever I'm at. Usually, I "accidentally" leave my cell phone behind. It's so annoying to be shopping or talking to someone and then the cell phone rings. And don't get me started on people that talk on their phone while checking out at the store.....how rude! I don't have the perks like caller ID or call waiting either on my land line, those are just a waste of money. Call me old fashion, but this world is getting too obsessed with electronics.
February 25, 2009 at 10:38 a.m.