Ask the Readers: Do You Still Have a Landline?
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Lazygal, @cdcookin, and Elizabeth Wilie for winning this week's contest!
In an age where almost everyone has a cell phone, more and more people are opting to save money by getting rid of their landline. For many people, it makes more sense to rely solely on their cell phone than continuing to pay for a landline. However, there are still quite a few people who have opted to continue having a landline in their home.
Do you still have a landline? Why or why not?
Tell us whether or not you still have a landline and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards
We're doing three giveaways — one for random comments, one for random Facebook "Likes", and another one for random tweets.
Enter 1 of 3 Ways:
- Post your answer in the comments below, or
- Go to our Facebook page, "Like" us, then "Like" the update mentioning this giveaway (you can comment, as well — but you don't have to for entry), or
- Tweet your answer. You have to be a follower of our @wisebread account. Include both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" in your tweet so we'll see it and count it.
If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.
Giveaway Rules:
- Contest ends Monday, April 4th at 11:59 pm Pacific. Winners will be announced after April 4th on the original post and via Twitter. Winners will also be contacted via email, Facebook, and Twitter Direct Message.
- You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.
- You must be 18 and US resident to enter. Void where prohibited.
Good Luck!
Tagged: Giveaways, Ask the Readers
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Yes, to call 911 if needed and for when the power goes out.
I got rid of my landline about two years ago.
We will continue to have a landline at our lake house as cell phone is available under a tree up the block.
yes I still do!
i don't have a landline. our household has four cell phones and we weren't using the landline so we cancelled it.
We still have a landline, but if we were to move we would probably drop it.
We still have one. It takes 10 minutes to reach 911 on a cell phone in LA. The landline is less then 10 seconds.
I don't have a landline. The only time I've ever had a landline in my adult life was when my boyfriend at the time had been falsely arrested and I needed a landline in order for him to be able to call me. He was there for a few months before the grand jury threw out the case. When he was released, I canceled my landline service. All I need is my cell phone.
I've never had a landline. I don't know if I will ever have one.
Last time I had a landline was in 2003. That one was provided by my college and was in my dorm. So I guess technically I have never had a landline. My parents still have their landline because of my mom's job. I have never had any desire to have a landline. My cell is plenty. My husband has two cell phones, his smartphone and then a cheapo one that has a battery that lasts for a week in between charges in case of power outages. We also both have Google Voice numbers that we use on applications and such. We can tell on our cell phones if the people are calling our cell number or google number, so we know what they want.
I don't have a landline (technically, I have a DSL line with a dialtone but no local or long-distance service). Reasons include convenience and economics.
Nope, we got rid of our land line about two years ago, when we moved houses. All four members of our family have cell phones. We haven't missed having a land line at all.
I'm 26 and I've never had a land-line. I've moved around to much for work for a land-line to ever be an option.
I have a landline because I want to make sure I can call 911. My cell phone doesn't always work the best where I live. Not having a landline is not an option right now.
I dropped the landline a few months ago when AT&T finally lowered the rate on internet without phone. Before that, it was the same price for internet only or internet with the landline. Now I connect my cell phone to my home phone system with an Xlink-cell Bluetooth Gateway.
I do still have a landline because I don't pay for cable TV and this is the cheapest way for me to get high-speed internet. The last two times I've tried to call and cancel the landline, AT&T has told me I can keep the phone service and DSL for a lower price than I could get only DSL. Stupid, right?
No. Only cell phone for the past 7 years.
I've got a landline so that I can send faxes! Yes, people actually do still fax... The only reason I do is because I am a medical insurance examiner on the side. Pretty good hustle, but it does require a phone line to fax on...
No landline for several years now -- it's just another expense -- and, once we got rid of it, we no longer got calls from telemarketers!
We still have land line and will continue to do so until our cell service improves. I wish it weren't so.
Funny, I just rid myself of my land line. I have had a very successful home based sewing shop for over 20 years. My home phone # was also my shop number. I rely heavily on caller ID and call forwarding to run my business. Two years ago my bill was 26.00 a month with a one line advertising in the yellow pages for 9.00 additional dollars a month. Last year the line went to 49.00 a month they would now charge 10.00 for caller ID and 10.00 for call forwarding. Also a new bill would be generated monthly with a 19.00 charge per-line in the yellow pages. So now I have a separate bill of 38.00 plus tax for advertising every month and a 49.00 telephone bill. Well with new taxes and this and that last month the bill went to 96.00. I called voiced my disapproval. The salesman told me so many people were going to cell phones that they had to make money some where. Well the some where is no longer me. I said I would never, never give up my land line but I am tired of being taken advantage of, so here I sit with my cell phone and my old number ported in. I actually love it. No more answering machine. My phone goes with me, I get all my messages. It is great and even better. I am saving 96.00 a month.
Yes, landline phone as I don't have a cell phone & I use dial-up internet. I would probably still be on rotary service if I hadn't been required to go touch tone service because of mandatory 911 requirements in my area.
We have a land line and I don't intend to get rid of it. I worked with a major phone company and saw that during emergencies and major disasters that cell phone priority is given to emergency workers. Rather than compete with this necessary work, we could just use the traditional copper wire based land line to contact family and friends, Plus the copper based land line is self sustaining, unless the line is cut, so I don't have to worry about charging the phone.
I have a landline, pre-paid long distance phone card, and prepaid cell phone all for about $45 per month.
I haven't had one since 2001. Like other commenters, I have moved often; the hassle of changing numbers, contracts, and billing accounts would have grown very old. I have a second Google Voice account to give out to companies, services, and websites that need a number, and I can retrieve that voicemail anytime. I use a Web-based fax service. As far as I can tell, the only thing a landline ever got me that I'm not getting now is a load of additional expense. The various tax charges alone on my landline bills were ridiculous enough...to say nothing for the atrocious rates for calls. My mobile phone suits my lifestyle, and various other web services provide other, richer outlets for any of the other uses formerly filled by landlines.
My husband and I have cell phones, but we also have a house phone. But we've been using Vonage for over a year now for our house phone. Not sure if it counts as land-line since it's VoIP.
No landline for me. I truthfully don't know anyone under the age of 30 that still has one!
There is no reason to have a traditional land-line these days. I use a cheap prepaid service ( Page Plus) when I am out, and a Magic Jack serves as my land-line. I work from home and my $20 a year MJ service is reliable and affordable...plus I can send faxes through it. I can even use it with my laptop...VERY handy for business trips and vacations. I can take my "home phone" with me.
Google has a "voice" service that looks like a free alternative to MJ..I have not tried it, but it looks good. I may start using it as a second line.
Personally, I see no reason to have a real land-line ever again.
Yes we still have a landline because people can find us in the phone book. If they would publish a phonebook of cell phone numbers, the landline would go in a minute!
I cancelled my landline way before it was cool. It happened back in the early 2000’s on the day I had to leave the room to take a call on my cell because my significant other and our two teenage boys were on their cell phones as well. I realized that four cell phones plus a landline was overkill. I remember people inquiring on why my phone was ‘shut off’ and explaining that I did it on purpose. (But felt the “SURE you did….” vibe.) Years later I bought my current home and didn’t get a landline then either, as AT&T provides DSL service without one.
I’ve had several occasions to call 911(don’t ask) and have never had an issue reaching them nor relaying the correct location information. Just like I wouldn’t need a landline to call 911 from an accident on the highway, I find that argument silly.
Sometimes I miss the old style phones. Heavy in your hand, the occasional rotary dial with a real bell sound that pierced the air. I know there are kids that will grow up and won’t know what a dial tone sounds like or know how you couldn’t mute or reject incoming calls. If you had a stalker, you had to suffer the repeated intrusions with the only option being unplugging the phone! Oh, and angrily pushing the end call button during a heated debate will never hold a candle to the sound slamming an old style phone in to its cradle! It just doesn’t leave that screw you impression like the old phones could.
The nostalgia of the old style landline phones is what I miss. Certainly not the monthly bill with ridiculous taxes and miscellaneous charges! But I guess the same premise can be applied to mailing letters or writing checks, both of which are a thing of the past in my world.
Time marches on. R.I.P. landline, your time in my life has ended.
We still have one, but I don't think we will for long. It is actually cheaper to get my 10 yr old her own cell line than it is to keep the land line. We have a ton of old cell phones, so she can just reuse them and if she loses one - no biggie. Plus, we have free long distance on our cell service -- not so on the landline!
That depends on whether you count Ooma as a land line. If I could get AT&T DSL here instead of the crappy slow-to-a-crawl-every-freaking-night-like-clockwork Comcast I would probably have a land line with them as well...but alas, it's not available here.
No - no landline here. Just now worth the cost.
Yes, we do.
Yes. We still have a landline and I intend to keep it as long as possible. I don't give out my cell phone number to anyone except for my family and friends. Schools, doctors, businesses etc. all get the landline #. I can easily screen my calls on my landline, and it always works when there is a power outage, even when the cell battery dies. I also don't want to be overly accessible to every charity, politician, business and whoever else can get around the Do Not Call list.
As of yesterday, we no longer have a (traditional) landline. We've had ooma for a while, but ATT makes it inconvenient to ditch the landline if you have DSL. Now we have faster internet (with uverse) for less money overall! I really wish I hadn't waited so long.
I do still have a landline phone but expect to get rid of it within the next couple of months.
We still have a land line, mostly because we were traumatized during 9-11. Cell phones didn't work then, so the landline was essential in letting others know we were safe.
I still have a land line .... I live in a dead zone for cell reception.
We got rid of it a couple months ago. It sometimes is hard not having it, but the only people that called was my mother-in-law and telemarketers. The $25 a month we save can go towards the iPhone bill.
Yes, we do. Mainly for convenience.
Still got the landline here, primarily because it's wired into our security system
Yes, for days when I work at home and for emergencies.
I still have a landline phone because no cell phone carrier has service where I live. We have tried them all. Pluse my internet is connected to my land line.
We gave up the land line years ago. The only time I missed it was when we didn't get an evacuation order during a wildfire but now our cell phones are registered to get them.
I haven't had a landline since I graduated from college in 2002. Being poor right out of school it just didn't make any financial sense to have to pay for the extra landline. It still doesn't make much sense.
Yes, we do have a landline. We have talked about getting rid of it, but we have an internet package bundled with it that makes it less expensive to have the landline, too. Go figure!
i still have a landline- i don't want to be attached to a cell phone constantly and worry about dropped signals.
We still have a landline. Use it for international calls.
We still have a landline. It's more reliable than cell phone only. We have a habit of not keeping our cell phones charged all the time -- not good in an emergency.
No landline. They're redundant with cells, which cover more ground.
Yes...we still have a land line. One reason we still have the land line is because my husband is a self employed contractor and we need it for business calls. Thanks!
jackievillano at gmail dot com
yes
no internet with out land line
sad but true
I have a land line for internet service and when I have to call a government agency and could be on hold for a long time. (One call lasted 2 hrs). My land line with internet is ~$50/month. I use tracfone when I have to call long distance ~$7/month ($20 card for 90 days).
Yes, we do. In case of an emergency (earthquake, black out), the phone line will still have power. We don't have an digital/wireless land line phone, either. The darn thing is plugged into the wall, and the handset is plugged into the phone. To top it off, there 's no answer machine attached. It's a bit nostalgic looking. People make comments and laugh.
We choose not to have cell phones, so we do have a landline.
No personal landline, though there is a business line for a home-based business in the house that we occasionally use as for personal calls on the weekend. However, we wish our reception for our cell phones was better, but now that we've switched to pre-paid plans, we only use the cell phones for quick calls instead of chatting with family and friends.
I still have a landline. Why? Because we get a discount as a bundle package from the phone company. I tried to get rid of the landline but the company told me that all of my discounts would be taken away and it would be like paying the same amount and getting the landline for free. So, I may as well keep it. Plus, the kids have used it when I had a medical issue and needed assistance. So all in all, it's better for me to keep it.
I have a landline..only because we have an alarm systems that requires it. We don't use it at all though.
We still have a VOIP account through Callcentric, which essentially gives us a landline using our original phone number for about $10 a month. When my youngest child is old enough to have a cell phone, we'll get rid of it -- he's the only one who ever gets calls on it at this point!
Yes.
I still have a land line mostly because i am self-employed, and I use my cell phone only for closest friends and family. But I am considering switching over to cell only....it feels like a big step. But already, the 4 phones in my house (landline) all seem to need new batteries at the same time.....that's an expense!
Hmmm, maybe it's time to go all cell.
J
No landline, May 2009. No regrets! Principally, dropped the landline because of the duplicate expense.
I have a land-line. Mainly it's the number I put when I enter contests or sweepstakes or sign up for various things. That way I can screen my calls on my answering machine.
We still have a landline for our alarm system, and for blackouts caused by storms and hurricanes (we live in south Florida). We have prepaid cell phones and get our Internet service via cable.
No, haven't had one since about 2002, except for one year when we got a deal on cable, internet and phone. We used the phone about five times all year and haven't had a landline since!
No, why pay for land lines when cell phones are in? lol Most people are on the go anyway so why not :)