Reader comments
Cutting the cord: Are you ready to replace your landline?

J.A. Watson | 2:08 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

If you use Skype, you will be subjected to a never-ending stream of Spam, Scam and Pornographic contact requests. If you have any problems with Skype, or your account, you will find that Skype has absolutely no customer support. This can become critical if you use Skype paid services and suddenly find your account blocked with no explanation and no response from Skype to your queries. How many phone companies or "land line replacements" do you know of that have no customer service phone number, fax, email, or any other way of getting assistance?

David O | 2:42 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Having no land line is fine, until you have an emergency, lose power to charge your phone, misplace your phone.

wire free | 7:05 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

my husband and I have not had a "landline" in over 4 years. We went exclusively cell phone and haven't looked back.
Our phones work even when the local power is out, no sales calls, and people call one number to reach me.
It even worked when we were in Mexico in the middle of a hurricane! I could call the airlines and reschedule our flight.
This is the way that most of the rest of the world is as there was no infrastructure to create a landline system.
I wouldn't go back to the old days for anything!

Comments continue below

But | 7:07 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Skype is a godsend to people living overseas.

Anonymous | 7:18 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

We haven't had a land line for two and a half years. Our internet is wireless, and our phone service is Verizon wireless. There is absolutely no reason to have a land line. Our internet service is far superior to anything Qwest can deliver.

I have a real estate investment business, I use my cell phone--there is no reason to have a land line.

We built a new home this year, I ran a phone line to the house but never connected it to the house wiring.

Part of my motivation is my complete disdain for Qwest--thee worst public utility on the planet, they have no peer.

Except.. | 7:35 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

What about giving private information over the landline.....SS#, bank numbers, etc. I'm still a little leery at giving those things out over a cell phone. Any truth to that anymore?

Dutch | 7:57 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Proven fact - If the power goes out only a land line will work - Lived thru a New England Ice Storm power was out for a week in some areas - I had people come to my home to use my land line because thier cell phones would not work. I know I know ice storms do not happen in Utah - but something can happen thatcan cause power to go out. Yes your power could be out and the cell tower etc could still be on thus you have service - Think of a major incident. No computers - no cell phone - Think Katrina

Power Out | 8:15 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I have not had a landline for three years. I have never looked back. Consider, if you have a landline phone that plugs into an electrical outlet (most require a plug in now) your landline phone will not work either in a power outage. Your cell phone should have a plug in device for the car. That way with the power out and your cell phone battery low you can still operate the cell phone from your car.

Personal information | 8:32 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

For except - For starters, cell phones are no more or less private/secure than land lines. Any personal information you give out over a land line is just as likely to be intercepted as it would on a cell phone. So no advantage/disadvantage there.....

The bigger question is why are you giving out sensitive info (SSN, credit card numbers, etc.) over the phone? I can't think of a single company that would actually ask you to do that over the phone - they may ask for a few digits (i.e. the last 4 digits of your SSN) to verify your identity, but any company that asks you to give out sensitive info in its entirety over the phone is one you shouldn't be doing business with.

What was I thinking? | 9:13 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Just about discontinued the land line last month. Then we had Ike. FEMA co-opted the cell phone band width, power was off for 10 days. ATT had DSL switch problems. Dusted off the land line handset and had reliable communication. Minimum data set for me: land line and a Freeplay Radio. Maybe I need a slide rule as a calculator back up ;)

Sign Me: Hardwired in Houston.

Stenar | 9:24 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I haven't had a land line in 9 years. It's cell phones only for me. I've never experienced any problems using only a cell phone.

Zadruga Guy | 10:07 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

We dumped our landline immediately when number portability began. What was formerly our landline number now goes to my wife's cell phone. Since we both already had cell phones before ditching the land line, it was only the pain of telling everyone a new number that held us back as long as it did. Once number portability started, it was bye-bye Qwest!

fred | 10:14 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I gave up my land line when I found the only thing I used it for was to find my cell phone.

Homer | 10:45 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

It is clear from some of these comments that many people still don't understand what VoIP is. VoIP, although wireless and not directly connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network, is NOT cellphone service. Yes VoIP service is reliant on the internet and subject to power issues associated with your internet however, with the proper power backup for your computer you will be just fine. Also Skype is not traditional VoIP. It is a proprietary network service of it's very own. What is clear is that people are dumping their wired/landline handsets and going wireless...whether that be through VoIP, Skype or Cellular.

Rebecca In Louisiana | 11:12 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

As folks in our area scrambled to gather supplies ahead of Ike and Gustav, it was interesting to see which commodities flew off of store shelves: water, batteries, generators, and land line phones that did not require electricity.

Before the storms, as we contacted each person in our congregation, one of the questions we asked was "Do you have a land line phone that does not require electricity?" That way we would know who we could call and who's door we would need to knock on after the storms to make sure they were OK.

Our disaster supply kit contains an "electrically independent" phone. Even if you don't have a land line it can plug into any phone jack.

Skype *is* wonderful. But in a natural disaster, it's nice to have one less thing to stress about.

K | 11:14 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Re: Personal information...Don't you ever pay a bill with your debit card or order something with your credit card over the phone?

Actually, I'm torn. I would love to give up my landline phone...I pay way too much $$$ for what I use it.

BUT... in the small town where I live, it's almost impossible to find a decent carrier without paying an arm & a leg for more cell minutes. I also like that only people I want to have my cell number can call me.

Who knows, maybe someday.

Skype/VoIP a god-send | 11:47 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

for LDS senior missionaries serving overseas.

One of the greatest drawbacks to serving in an overseas mission was the daunting thought of not being able to talk to or see your children or grandchildren for the duration of your mission service.

Now we are able to talk to our mom/dad/grandma/ grandpa serving in Africa several times a week. And best of all they can see and hear their grandchildren through small videocams installed on both their and our computers.

And we know of various other couples serving in missions in Russia/Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe, as well as in South America who are able to keep in frequent contact with their children through this miracle of the modern age. As long as they have availability to a high-speed internet connection they should be able to enroll in a Skype type service.

Gal50 | 11:45 a.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I have a business and no land line. I use a cell phone. My kids were bugging me for cell phones, so I let them buy their own which they did! So, now we just use three cell phones and have no problem at all.

We switched the land line to high speed Internet service, which we use much more.

I haven't had a reason to get Skype either. I find my cell phone much more convenient.

E-mail also takes the place of land lines as well. It works well as a replacement for my fax machine.

BB | 12:01 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I've been using MagicJack since July and love it. $40 for the first year and $20 every other year. Unlimited local and long distance. They are a registered phone company and offer you a local number. Just plug their flash drive device in and plug a normal phone into that and you are set.

Sireofmany | 12:18 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Gave up the land line years ago. We only use Vonage and cell phones today. Due to the increasing versatility of cell phones, I would consider upping my plan and dropping Vonage also if I could get my wife used to not having a phone in the house. Currently, the only use I have for Vonage is that rare instance when I need to send a fax from home. I don't understand why some businesses require a fax transmission when a scanned document in an e-mail is just as good and actually more reliable since it is easier to save an electronic copy in that format.

John Robert Mallernee | 12:36 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Greetings:

On my notebook computer, which has a high speed connection from Comcast, I use Skype, Yahoo, America On Line, and Windows Live instant messenger services.

All of them are free, when communicating directly from computer to computer, and Skype, Yahoo, and Windows Live include use of a web camera.

You only have to pay if you're using your computer to call a telephone.

America On Line even assigned me a regular telephone number where callers can leave Voice Mail messages.

I rarely get the pornographic spam from my instant messenger services because I always opt to appear invisible whenever I'm on line.

Primarily for emergencies, I use a pre-paid cellular telephone that I purchased from Wal-Mart.

When I need to purchase more minutes, I go to the Tracfone web site and use my Visa card.

Thus, with no landline, I never have a telephone bill to worry about.

Yes, I also have an AC adapter for my pickup truck, so I can use both my cellulat telephone and my notebook computer, which has a wi-fi antenna built in.

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee
Official Bard of Clan Henderson
Armed Forces Retirement Home
Washington, D.C. 20011-8400

Personal information | 1:13 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

K,

No, I don't.

I would never pay a bill or order something over the phone. You're playing Russian roulette with your identity/credit if you do. And frankly, any company that WANTS me to give out that kind of info over the phone isn't going to get my business because they should know what a bad business practice it is.

I will only give out personal information to a company over a secure internet connection, by regular mail, or in person. Period. You should think about doing the same......the odds will catch up with you eventually.

jaybob | 1:22 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I haven't had a land line in about 7 years. I have a Cell phone wich already costs my wife and I $65 a month on a family plan. I can't justify paying another $50 for a land line, which is about what Comcast charges for their digital service. A cell phone already does everything a land line does. Why waste the money?

jaybob | 1:29 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Sireofmany, I worked for a company that would not allow custumers to email us documents because it is an unsecure form of correspondance, they said. We would only accept faxes. Faxing is the only reason I would have a land line, otherwise a cell phone is good enough for me.

VOIPconvert | 1:52 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I got two MagicJacks-one personal, one business. They work just as well as my old landlines, and cost $20 per year, as opposed to the $100+/month for the landlines. And they come with more standard services than my landlines. The only downsides, when the power is out, you lose service. But the free voicemail still works so people can still leave messages.

awesomeron | 2:04 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

No! As much as I would like to and much money as I can save. I will not do that, because if the Lights Go Out. The Phone Will Not Work and the Cell Phone Services in Hawaii goes down. However my landline and my old Princess Phone worked just fine. Cordless Phones do not work in a power outage.

I was really sick when the last power outage happened and I could not get up the road nor could family members get down the road. As we have 1 Road In and One Road Out and Power Poles fell across the road. The lights where out for 18 hours and my family members griped for 18 hours. We had everything we needed and where comfortable but it was still not enough to suit them. One family member had a crisis, because of the Power outage and road closure.

So I have to keep my land line.

However the lights came on and the later the road was cleared and there was the usual talk about building another road, but once things where back to what passes for normal everyone forgot again. One Radio Station stayed on top of things.

Anonymous | 2:11 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

My husband and I have been cell-only for at least the last 5 years, but found that with becoming active members of the LDS church, we began going over our minutes every month. We bought a Phillips Skype phone for $140, signed up for a plan that's $5/month, and pay and additional $3/month to have a number where people can now reach us. It has been fabulous! People have no idea we're talking over the internet, the Skype phone works just like a cordless (the reason we bought a more expensive one that doesn't require your computer to be turned on) and I can go back to screening my cell calls. So much cheaper than anything Comcast or Qwest could offer us.

Anonymous | 2:40 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

Go to VOIP all you want -- when the emergency comes, you'll be coming to my house to call. I feel more secure with my good ole landline ..

Would love to ditch Qwest but... | 4:23 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

I have satellite tv and a family plan cell phone, so my high speed internet comes in through the phone line. Can I still get my internet through the phone line if I cut my landline service? What options are you using?

Wondering | 10:23 p.m. Sept. 23, 2008

What about ACN phone service? Now they have a video phone too, so you can see each other if you both have it... I just heard about it the other day.

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