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Why Are You Still Using A Telephone Land Line?

Erik Folgate

Seriously, what are the benefits for you to still own a traditional land line? CNN has an article about people that are getting rid of their telephone land lines altogether.

I’ll admint it, I’m one of those people, and I am under 30, which is exactly what the article talks about. My wife and I have only had a telephone land line once, and that was so we could hook up the alarm system. Now, I have a land line, but it’s for my home office, and my company pays for the line, otherwise, I wouldn’t bother with one.

So, give me one good reason for you to continue to have a telephone line? Here are some reasons why I don’t have a land line.

  • Virtually every cell phone plan now comes with free long distance to anywhere in the nation.
  • My wife and I share 1000 anytime minutes with free nights and weekends minutes. We hardly even touch the 1000 anytime minutes by the end of the month.
  • It’s one less bill to pay!
  • Land Line service has not gotten any better! My business line has been up and running for 1 month, and one day I picked it up and there was no dial tone. Surprisingly, AT&T fixed the problem relatively quickly, but that was only because they didn’t have to come out to my house to fix it
  • NO SOLICITORS!!! I know that some still squeak through to your cell phone, but that’s probably because you gave out your cell phone number on some questionaire or website not realizing that they would call you.
  • Cell phone signals have greatly improved. I realize that many of you live out in the middle of nowhere, so it may be impossible to get cell phone service where you live.

For those of you that live in somewhat urban areas, I’d like to know why you still pay for a land line. Is it just because you’ve always had one, or do you like the security of knowing that you have options when wanting to make a phone call? I know that some of you have alarm systems, and that is a valid reason. You can always just pay for the minimum service. Anyway, think about saving the $30 or 40 bucks a month and even more when it comes to the long distance fees.

Hey, Bellsouth and AT&T, don’t hurt me. You know that your technology is dying, too. You’re just banking on the fact that VoIP remains to be a frustrating service.

Categories: Budgeting, Consumer News

Erik Folgate
Erik and his wife, Lindzee, live in Orlando, Florida with a baby boy on the way. Erik works as an account manager for a marketing company, and considers counseling friends, family and the readers of Money Crashers his personal ministry to others. Erik became passionate about personal finance and helping others make wise financial decisions after racking up over $20k in credit card and student loan debt within the first two years of college. Another one of Erik's projects is the site, Stuff We Google.

Learn more - including co-founders Andrew Schrage and Gyutae Park.

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Comments

  • brad ford

    It is required for DSL. By having the bare minimum phone service, I have DSL +phone for less than then cost of a cable modem service.

    Once I can get naked DSL, it will be gone.

  • Dan

    I switched to a cell phone for all of my business. A few of my customers complained about the quality of the call. My cell phone provider would drop calls. I was in jeopardy of losing business.

    I don’t like it, but $50 a month is not much compared to my livelihood.

  • http://goodbyedebt.blogspot.com/ Sick of Debt

    There’s a couple of reasons at our house:

    - DSL line requires it and with our DSL line being $10/month, it’s cheaper than Internet through the cable (which we don’t have because it’s more expensive).

    - Pacemaker testing equipment used the old-fashioned “handset” to do modem communications back to the Dr’s office. My wife is young (28) and has had a pacemaker almost all her life. We haven’t looked into replacing her testing equipment (used every 3 months), but it’d probably cost more than the effort is worth.

    - Less than $0.03/minute long distance (check out http://unitelcommunicationsgroup.com/ I don’t get any money for promoting them).

    Our house phone bill is right now at $30/month with DSL & taxes included. We’re the freaky ones looking into getting out of our cell-phone contract, move to a pay-as-you-go cell phone and use the house phone for our calls.

  • Marta G

    My main reason:
    I LOVE my freedom and I dont like how this thing (the cell) follows you every where you go.

    Unless you need a cell phone, ie your bussiness or personal affairs, I see cell phones as a hassle in most cases.

    Don’t you people hate how this thing is attached to you at all times?

    • JH

      No, because it isn’t attached to me at all times. I usually have mine turned off.

  • Dave L

    Because cell phones sound terrible. I was an Army tactical communicator 20 years ago, and if my tactical phone lines sounded as bad as most cell phone calls I’ve had, my commander would have been on my tail to fix it right away!

  • maggie

    Reason to have a landline — blackouts in the city — cell phones did not work the last time also you lose your cell phone and finally, faxing. I still need mine or faxing.

  • Don Robie

    My wife and I are 70 years old. She is physically handicapped. We need a Alert system since we live alone. In an emergency, we are the “I fell down and I can’t get up” type. To the best of my knowledge, we must have a land line. If not for that, we would drop land-line service immediately.

  • http://madsaver.com Mac

    Wow, I am amazed at how many commenters still maintain a land line…though with all valid reasons. I don’t have DSL, so no need for a line there. I don’t have a home business, so that’s out too. Nor do I have an alarm system, but most modern alarm systems now work over a cellular network as well, so that’s no longer an excuse.

    Though we don’t really miss a landline (haven’t had one since about 2004), it would have come in handy early on when our cellular provider had poor coverage in our area. Dropped calls happen way too frequently, but it’s gotten much better since then and it was certainly worth saving all that money each month!

  • aberr

    No cell phone or wireless stuff for me. The technology used in cell phones and smart meters alters cellular metabolism of glucose and calcium channel funcions of cells. This is a proven fact. If you want a cell phone on your head, it’s you’re right. You might want to take a closer look at the science. They telecommunication business is fighting tooth and nail against this information but it’s just obvious who the liars are. Occasional use probably doesn’t do any permanent damage. Educate yourself. You can’t count on the government to keep you safe.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VJFVNXGY5ESPFXDJZATDH5YIAQ peeples

      you said it, friend! The trick the govt fascist empire uses now is convincing us that our secure and private way of doing things is unfashionable and passe’. Myspace was difficult for the data miners to track, so they convinced the people that it was lame and only “cool” people use Facebook. Problem solved! They ridicule folks for having a basic and needed service like a telephone, so we’ll do away with it and sign up for their creepy iPhones and what not. Sending a fax is THE most secure and private way to send a document today. Shhh! Don’t let the public know.. we don’t want our spy jobs to be any more difficult than just pressing a button! Good for YOU, aberr. You did not drink the kool aid. Pass it on… as much as you can.. as you can see, many news sites only allow comments if you are a Facebook subscriber. What does THAT tell us??

      • me

        Wow. A couple of nutters, here. I think you need more activity in your lives so you don’t need to worry about such “problems”.

  • Artbish

    I view the coming loss of the land-line option another example of legislative subservience to private interests and callousness toward that portion of the citizenry that is old, poor or computer-clueless. These people are to be thrown onto the mercies of phone-company, with their bait and switch introductory offers and months and minutes overcharge games. Basic land-line service has been cheap and reliable. If you’re unable, as still the majority of the population, to carry on all your contacts and business via VoIP, you pay through the nose for cell-phone subscriptions and have to constantly track your usage and duration.

  • Art

    PS: The days of DSL may be numbered, too. The phone company is trying to covert subscriptions to lower-rate DSL, which connects via modem and phone line in favor of the more expensive fiber-optic ‘Uverse’ plans (which still may use copper cable inside the house). It is telling new, would-be DSL subscribers that DSL is not available in their area (even where DSL is actually in use by older subscribers) – they must pay for the more expensive technology. Some of my friends with the all-in-one Uverse plans have reported interference and dropped calls. The real point is that people are being forced into higher price levels, not to mention the deceptive patter about introductory rates that do not reflect true costs. Also, anyone who opts for bundle that requires a 4-wire router is being told that they cannot buy the router – they must rent it into perpetuity, just as people used to pay monthly charges for decades to rent a simple telephone set.

  • http://www.facebook.com/rsleblanc Ricky Stephen LeBlanc

    As a telecommunications tech/project manager for the last 35 years. I still keep my land line for many of the reasons stated already. 1) I live right across the street from the central office. 2) I use DSL because cable internet is not reliable here. 3) I do send/receive Faxes on occasion 4) During Hurricane IKE I was the one of only few with communications for the first few days/week (the TELCO lost electricity for 3 weeks and ran the generators for that entire time and next hurricane emergency services will limit cell phone usage to only texting Normally the TELCO have battery backup for 24-72 hours depending on their situation.) 4) I am a licensed HAM radio operator so access to a working phone line in emergency situations is critical. I really hate the 41% taxes paid on a land line but I feel the benefits far outweigh the costs.

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