How many still have a Landline in their home?

[tallyho8]

I still have my land line but will probably get rid of it soon. I had kept it for years because I moved and knew that my old friends could find me by looking in the phone book. This year they stopped distributing the white pages. Just the yellow pages are delivered now so I lost that reason to keep it. Then Katrina hit and the power was out and all cell phones were out but my AT&T landline kept working even though many of the poles were down on the ground.

We still have the old black desk phone plus a couple of cordless phones. The desk phone is now unplugged because we got a rescue greyhound a couple of years ago and he was sleeping in the living room when the phone rang. Being trained to leap out of the box and race when he hears the bell, he awoke and jumped up and started running, bumping into tables and chairs, breaking vases, and scaring himself silly. None of the other phones has a bell or ringer like the old desk phone.

 

[3930dave]

911 is definitely a factor to consider before dropping a landline. Would be prudent to call the 911 center to see what technology they have BEFORE making the drop decision. Nothing worse than having your house on fire, calling 911, and they can't find you! :shocked:

Key with Voip, is ensuring your address is correctly listed, and up to date with your service. Something that was taken care by default in older landline systems, is now on the customer.

Sad case in Canada a few years back..... family moved provinces, but didn't update with their Voip service. Critical 911 call got dispatched to their old home. Ended with fatality.

Most every tech has strengths and weaknesses. Been using cell phones since '95, but still keep my Cu landline. I like redundant systems, and will still pay to have it.

One thing I've found with recent cell phones, some have really cheaped-out on the Mic hardware/processing. Many people today seem to primarily just text with their phones, or watch videos, so may not care.... but I much prefer voice calls at times.

Rgds, D.

 

[Jstpssng]

I ditched my landline in 2005. Back then it was difficult as my Cell company needed a landline on record. About 5 years ago I ditched my cell phone and went back to a landline; as the phones "improve" the signal quality goes down. I once could sit in my house to use my cell; now I need to drive to the top of the hill in my field to make calls. Plus I like having a local number again, and my internet comes in through the same line.

 

[Maxify55]

Built our place back in '07 and never had one put in the house.
CAT-5 connections in every room but telephones? They're so 1960, anymore.
We put an access point on the roof with another in the barn and never looked back.
1/4 mile omni-directional wi-fi & a BT headset.
"Sorry, Honey, I didn't get your call cause there's no signal.", don't work around here anymore.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
How easy is a system like that to hack? It sounds like something I would be interested in.

 

[Maxify55]

^^^^
How easy is a system like that to hack? It sounds like something I would be interested in.

PM sent

 

[ultrarunner]

Looks like the nail in the coffin for Landline is here.

Just received official notice ATT is seeking “Relief” as Carrier of Last Resort (COLR)

Upon regulatory approval ATT will provide minimum of 6 months continuation service.

Several of the longtime homeowners here have never had Internet with some going back 60+ years with original POTS.

The deal was the telecoms would serve all but the deal may be no more.

Still have several functioning rotary dial phones… no batteries required…

 

[Eagle1]

No Cell service here so land line it is. Still waiting for TelCo to pull fiber the last 1/4 mile to my place.

 

[lman]

Fiber was installed here a couple of years ago and the phone company pulled out their boxes and is not available now. I don't know what the Amish neighbor is doing now. They had a phone booth outside the house.

 

[scootr]

It's been over 10 yrs since we unplugged the unreliable landline. Seemed it went out every time we had a big rain event. We don't miss it. A Starlink zoom call is better than a phone call. And Cell service is good here. Thank God for progress