One-Third of U.S. Families Live Without Landline Phones, Report Says

Exactly. I got rid of my land line when I got rid of DSL.

@Uneed2kno Everyone's situations are different. Just want to say that Federal Law dictates that emergency 911 and reverse 911 calls are allowed to complete even if service is not supplied to the landline. I have very reliable cellular service where I live and have not dropped a call in two years or lost service in a power outage.

I agree totally...I also much prefer the audio qualoty of a landline over cell or wireless...so many calls to people on these other phones I've had to ask them to repeat themselves constantly...kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing with interminable dropouts in the signal. I've had cordless phones drop on me in an instant with a power outage...another solid reminder that a landline is the best for me. I certainly understand the want for mobile; I have a Tracfone myself, but I use it almost exclusively just to phone home to see what we need at the store...or to let someone know I've arrived where I'm going safely...or to make sure someone is going to be somewhere on time...no hour long conversations. Mobile is fine for quick calls like I've mentioned but the quality and security of a landline is unbeatable in my book!

@Uneed2kno Wireless carriers must allow 911 access even to cell phones that are not currently active. That's why donated phones are used by women's shelters ~ so they can call a 911 operator in an emergency. If I'm not mistaken, it's VOIP services like Vonage that aren't required to provide this service. My 9 year old carries my last cell phone so he can use it in an emergency. He has no other abilities on the phone except to call 911 since the phone isn't subscribed to a wireless carrier. I know it works because I've called it from that phone a few times to be certain he could access them. I've found that the operators are very happy to confirm the call is connected as long as you tell them up front it's a non-emergency.

Also, if the power is off and you use a cordless phone on your landline, your telephone cannot be used. If your phone lines are down, your landline cannot be used. In the 19 years I've been using a cell phone, I can only count a handful of times it couldn't be used because of a service related issue.

I look at my cell phone as being my primary phone line because I can not only use it on the road in an emergency, I can also call the telephone company to let them know my landline is down or my electric company to tell them my power is out.

As for the paperwork issue, I list my cell phone as the primary number to call and my home number as the secondary and I haven't had an issue yet.

If your home's on fire, what are you still doing inside your burning home! Running to a phone inside a burning building is such a terrible idea. Run outside and borrow someone's cellphone.

@Candy
Land lines may be expensive - although most phone companies have bare bone accounts - here's one reason to keep them.
During an earthquake - and no matter where you live there can be an earthquake - cell phones do not work except for some distance from you- at least 25-100 miles. Another person pointed out -when electricity goes land lines still work.

A barebones telephone line from Verizon in California is $35.00 a month. Well $21.50 plus taxes and fees. Of course, if you qualify for subsidized phone, you can get it for much lower. My wife and I make enough money so that we are comfortable but we don't quality for subsidized anything.

At this point, my wife wants to go back to school. Since we don't qualify for subsidized anything, that is an additional $600 out of our pocket every month. Cancel phone we don't use, cancel gardener, cancel this and that. That is how we make our budget work without having her put off her dream.

I don't feel my family is less safe. In fact since each of my three teenagers has a cellphone, I know they can contact me when they need to. I know the police can track the phone if they go missing. I feel better letting them walk the half mile to the movies (as a group) and so forth. I know that if there is an accident we don't have to look for payphones or try to get to a stationary phone in the house. I know that if someone cuts our landline (happened 4 times in 3 years) that we can still call for help.

They don't interrupt with dinner or family times because we have rules about that. No texting or talking on the phone during dinner. No food in bedrooms. No talking or texting during board games or movie time. They also have strict limits on when they can talk on the phone and they know that I can track their activity in real time online.

I live in earthquake country but not worried about a landline for calling out. Though we do have a battery powered CB which is a lot more useful than a phone line in a disaster. The family that needs to know what is going on is local and we know where to go to meet up with supplies if needed. Cellphones are also a lot more handy during the seasonal forest fires we have which burn lines and landlines do go out once the tower they are on melts and crashes to the ground. When my wife was stuck at work behind the evacuation lines of the Station Fire last year, I was secure in knowing I could contact her on her phone while the phone for the animal rescue she works at went dead.

Pretty happy with my choice. My wife will be able to go to school next year and eventually increase her annual pay by 40%. I don't have unnecessary bills and I sleep soundly knowing my family can get a hold of me in any situation.

@Riognach Thank you for the positive feedback. A quick follow through. I neglected to mention, Stability and a land line came up at a conference I attended.OVERHEARD " A land line indicates a person is available, period. In the future most will get rid of the land line to accommodate the cost of everything else people don't really need but marketing will tell them they have to buy. By then the only people calling land lines will be bill collectors, telemarketers, and other people you really don't want to speak with."
And I am not slamming cell phones at all. I just think people should be aware there should always be aware that some options are necessary. You may be able to reach that cordless phone and need it for the one call you don't want to miss. Each time you purchase another me, me, me produce you give someone else a little piece of control. I'll I guarentee you if you ever paid a bill by cell phone, and your land line is disconnedted, the number one reason some have cancelled their land line, i.e. bill collectors, they will eventually be calling you. Oh yes, and did you know this. When a company sells your account to a collecter, thanks to paying the bill over the cell phone, they have everything they need to extract payments. Hint: never answer "yes" if someone on the other end asks is this (insert your name here) that to some collectors that would be your confirmation to giving them permission to take your money.

@cherub I live in the Los Angeles area. During the last major earthquake (Northridge, 1994), landlines were worthless for two days. All you got was an "All circuits are busy error". I didn't have a cell phone then and luckily we didn't need assistance because we wouldn't have gotten any. The local governments advise that you plan to be without assistance for 7 days after a major earthquake.