Are Landline Phones Only for the Rich?
It used to be that having a mobile phone was a fairly expensive treat but oh how things have changed. In a strange twist it now seems that owning a landline has become the true luxury.
A recent Nielsen survey found that not only have 17% of homes already gone landline-less but that number is predicted to jump to a full 1/5 of the population (20%) by the end of the year.
So what's causing this trend? Finances, for most. It's a cold hard fact that for most people cell phones are cheaper to own and operate than landlines, all factors considered, and in today's ever-tightening economy luxuries like home phone service are getting cut out. Who would have thought, expensive and fancy as cell phones are getting these days, that the real status symbol would become the clunky home phone?
Via psfk
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Will Sep 30th 2008 3:48PM
Right, this time Luxist has gone too far, and too stupid.
Are people's salaries down? No! Are retail shops reporting lower sales? No! In fact in the UK, most are actually reporting increases! But somehow Luxist makes it seem like the world is about to end, which causes depression over nothing.
To say that a land line is at all a luxury shows that you have a poor impression of the real world. I haven't heard of a single person or place that has given up their phone, heck many people (myself included) have recently got a 2nd phone line. VOIP operators even state that you should never substitute a phone line over anything, just in case if there is an emergency - after all, when was the last time you've had a land line fail on you? Never. When was the last time you've had a mobile phone fail on you...probably yesterday right?
Perhaps this is something for places like Bangladesh, Africa, etc as the cost and wait of connecting a phone line would dramatically surpass getting a mobile phone.
I remember when I was in Jakarta, although most people have a line, some people in the rural areas have waited years for a phone connection, and thus resulted in just getting a mobile phone.
lhvide Sep 30th 2008 4:08PM
Perhaps this was written about the USA? Pretty much the opposite of everything you stated is true over here...
Anecdotally, most everyone I know under the age of 40 has gotten rid of their land line, either because it was more expensive than the mobile and money was better spent elsewhere, or that ditching the land line eliminates solicitation calls, or both...
Jamie Oct 3rd 2008 5:31PM
I actually just had a landline fail on me about two weeks ago. It was down for a few days. So it does happen.
Karyn Oct 3rd 2008 2:09PM
I'm 24, and I haven't used a land line in years. I used to live in a home where a land line was required for the alarm system, but we ended up unplugging the handset. We never gave the number out, so any phone calls were spam.
I recently moved into an apartment, and debated getting a landline, but it would have been at least $15 a month that I don't have for a phone I would rarely use. Skype is a service similar to a landline phone, but its through your computer, and it's .002 cents a minute to call anywhere in the U.S. I'm in college and can't afford a landline that wouldn't ever be used.
will Oct 3rd 2008 2:16PM
maybe people realize that it makes no sense to pay for a landline when a cell phone works anywhere. I highly doubt this trend has much to do with the current economy. This is just an issue of common sense
bob Oct 3rd 2008 2:35PM
when jeanne, francis and wilma hit south florida, all cell towers were down or damaged. I was fortunate that one of the landlines to my house(i have two, one aboveground to the pole, and another that is underground) was still working and worked through out the entire electrical blackout(weeks for each storm). technology is wonderful, but sometimes the older systems work better in certain circumstances.
RON Oct 3rd 2008 2:36PM
GOT RID OF MINE BECAUSE I NEVER USED IT EXCEPT LETTING PEOPLE IN THE GATE. MY CELL PHONE CAN DO THAT. I HAVE VERIZON FOR OVER ELEVEN YEARS. I TRAVELED BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE U.S. AND NEVER, NEVER HAVE A PROPLEM. I'M 50 AND PAID CASH FOR MY LAST 2 HOMES IN CALIFORNIA. I HAVE NO DEBT. WHY?. BECAUSE I'M CONSERVATIVE. I DON'T BUY THINGS I DON'T NEED. MY FRIENDS WITH THE HIGH END LUXURY CARS , BOATS ECT ARE ALWAYS IN DEBT.
BobO Oct 3rd 2008 4:03PM
I wonder what the incidences of brain cancer will be in the future - all that heat and waves constantly near your noggin can't be good.
And my folks are just Luddites - it ain't about money, it's about usability...
leni Oct 3rd 2008 2:46PM
I'm going to grab a figure out of the air, I would say I have 30 people in my personal phone book, out of those 30, less than 10 have landlines. There's just no reason to have a landline anymore unless you have nothing better to do with that money.
Salaries down? maybe not but employment itself is way down. The fed just reported that unemployment claims have reached an all time high.
We're a family of four, I have a family plan with four phones, unlimited minutes and free long distance and it's less expensive than the landline bill with either the usual long distance or the plan for unlimited long distance.
I make or recieve probably 15 calls a day and I can't remember the last time I had a dropped call. If you have a problem with dropped calls you should change cell carriers.
Luxist hit the nail on the head.
Carl Oct 3rd 2008 3:16PM
It's hard to believe that you have to be RICH to afford a land line AND a cell phone. It might not make sense to have both but you don't have to be rich. Maybe my definetion of rich is different then Luxist's?
Redz Oct 3rd 2008 3:22PM
I agree with Will in terms of this being just plain common sense. It doesn't have anything to do with the economy, people want to save money plain and simple. I live in the US and my husband & I each have a cell phone then we have a Digital Voice phone service through the internet. For years we didn't have a "house phone" at all, but with the great options regarding long distance and unlimited minutes it seems silly to have to pay for out of area or long distance calls through a typical landline provider... we were able to save on our cell phone bills by relying on the house phone when home too keep down cell minutes. Again, not really an economy issue, just plain common sense... why would you just throw your money away if you don't have to?
Getwau Oct 3rd 2008 3:56PM
The real question should be "How many people actually need a cell phone?" You have a home phone, a phone at work, pay phones when you can find them and most friends have a cell. Use their's. Cheap can be good, but one needs to draw a line at common sense. One of the best books you'll ever find about finance is "How to Become Filthy Rich on Your Current Income" at www.how-to-become-rich.com. If people read books like this one we wouldn’t have the current situation we do.
walksilent Oct 3rd 2008 4:03PM
no one want to look at the real reason the economy is in bad shape and here is the reason cost of living is up meaning gas prices and food prices why because oil companies have seen that Americans have to have gas to live and are willing to pay whatever they want them to pay so other thing have to go like landlines unemployment up because people aren't spending money so place aren't making enough money to keep people employed which drains the economy even more
Randy Goat Oct 3rd 2008 6:31PM
The economy must be really killing you. You can't even afford grammar, capitalization or punctuation.
jmjmosley Oct 3rd 2008 8:44PM
My wife and I have a land line. During Hurricane Ike and for about a week after, we were the only people in our neighborhood with phone service. Luxory? I don't think so.
Ryan Oct 3rd 2008 4:18PM
Having a landline is really only out of necessity and a matter of economic sense. My wife and I have cell phones. It's just us and we don't need a landline. However, when it comes time to have kids, I think a landline is a must. I think landlines are easier for children to use and a necessity for safety, in case 911 has to ever be dialed. I think a child would have a much easier time using a landline versus a cell phone.
Ricketta Oct 4th 2008 11:11AM
We have both..... Most of my friends have only cells or digital home phone and when it rains or the power does out they either lose signal or cant charge thier phone.... I not only have a land line I have a cordless and one of the old ones with the spiral cord.. So that even when theres no signal on the cell and there is no electric (which we lost for 5 days once ) I still have a phone.
hownam Oct 3rd 2008 4:46PM
I have been trying to get my wife to give up the landline for the last couple of years. Our situation is especially bad - because of the suburb in which we live outside of Houston we have to have a "metro" line costing almost 50 bucks a month.
But then, Hurricane Ike......
Ma Bell - we love to hate her - but for two weeks when we had no power and severely reduced cell service (towers down I assume) that land line was a rock. It never went off even in the height of the storm. My hat's off to the designers of that system, and I guess we keep the line. It gave us safety, contact, and dial up internet on the laptops we could charge at the many businesses that put out power strips and generously offered electricity to those of us without. So I'm turned around on the subject! I see a new value in the service.
Emma Oct 3rd 2008 4:58PM
What a pointless article. I'm 15 and I have both a cell phone and a landline. I actually use the landline. Maybel I'm an outlier, I don't know.
Matt Oct 3rd 2008 5:30PM
As an power plant engineer for a regional telephone company, I can attest to the rigorous standards we have for backup power...from banks of batteries to diesel generators to back up the batteries to four day fuel tanks to back them up...these standards date back to the Bell System and have not changed even though they are incredibly expensive to maintain...I appreciate the comments regarding the reliability of the landline system but I'm not sure we can keep spending the money we spend to keep these standards in light of cable telephony, wireless and voice over the internet...but I hope we can as so many rely and will continue to rely on plain old telephone service