

The decline of the landline - pj
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14213965&amp;subjectID=894408&amp;fsrc=nwl

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NickM
When it comes to quality, landlines beat just about every other telephony
solution in every way. Everything from latency, to audio quality, to
reliability. They're also quite cheap compared to cell phone service (in the
US, anyway).

Maybe some people just don't care and would rather have one phone they use for
everything, but I don't plan on dropping my landline any time soon.

~~~
timmaah
Mine (in the US) was filled with noise. (never got over 26k using a 56k modem)
I still had to pay per minute for local calls, there is all kinds of crazy
fees and extra charges and I barely ever use it. I'm way too far for DSL and
forget fiber or anything else wired.

I'm not much of a talker, nor liked to be tied to a device, but when the GF
wanted a cell phone, it was a no brainer to add another line for $10 a month
and ditch the landline. (Not to mention the landline company is in pretty big
trouble <http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:FRP> )

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jonsteinberg
The only strong case I see is if you have a small child in the house. We have
a 6 month old...and having a landline seemed like a small price for additional
security and connectivity if I need immediate access - dont want to boot skype
or pray for an AT&T cell signal as I run around my apartment in a crisis

~~~
Hoff
Even in the best of emergency medical response systems, response delays can
arise. If you are not already medically trained, consider attending an
emergency medical technician class or the local equivalent; the better to
attend to your young charge.

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tocomment
I was about there get a landline because my iPhone keeps cutting out in my
basement/home office. Does anyone have a better alternative?

Is it worth calling ATT?

I'm tempted to just get an Android phone?

~~~
kylec
You might want to wait for AT&T's MicroCell:

<http://www.engadgetmobile.com/tag/att+microcell/>

~~~
ajb
Those need a landline (or cable) to work.

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sfphotoarts
I don't get all these problems everyone seems to have with AT&T. I have a
blackberry bold and it works just fine, I am hardly ever in an area where
there's not coverage and I hardly ever get dropped calls. Maybe its the
blackberry, or maybe its because I live in a city, but i haven't used a
landline for years. I've not worked at a company that has them for years
either. like public callboxes, they are a relic of the past.

~~~
jff
I have always had exceedingly good coverage with AT&T, in San Francisco, in
Rochester NY, and all along the country in between. I can't think of the last
time I didn't have service, except for when I'm in a basement or deep within a
thick-walled building.

It's pretty damn good.

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senthil_rajasek
"India has an elegant reverse-auction scheme, under which the supplier who
asks for least cash to supply a particular area wins the contract."

Did anyone get this sentence ?

~~~
chaosmachine
Lowest bid wins the contract. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_auction>

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MikeCapone
I have dry-loop DSL and a VOIP phone line. I guess that's a landline, though
not a traditional one (way too expensive for what it offers).

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Mz
I don't spend much time on the phone and I recently dropped my own landline to
save a few bucks. I bought a Tracfone last Christmas. After some discount I
had, it was about $145 for 14 months prepaid -- including phone, minutes, and
double minutes for life. As long as I don't go over about an hour of calls a
month (and so far I'm doing even less than that), it will work out to just
over $10/mo for the first 14 months. My landline was around $50/mo. I kept the
landline as long as I did in part for a reason I don't seem to see mentioned
here: If there is a natural disaster and power is out and you need to call
emergency services, you can pick up your landline and it will work. Of course,
this assumes you have an old fashioned phone hooked up to your landline and
not one of those newfangled wireless phones. Those require electricity to
work.

The next time I buy minutes for my Tracfone, I plan to get another $100 card
good for another year. So next year, my "monthly" (average) phone bill will be
even less than it is now, assuming of course I continue to use the phone very
sparingly.

