Landlines are dying out. But to some, they're a lifeline.

[question everything]

(snip)

The number of landline users has plummeted with the rise of cellphones, and the 19th-century technology’s days appear to be numbered. Providers like AT&T are looking to exit the business by transitioning customers to cellphones or home telephone service over broadband connections. But for many of the millions of people still clinging to their copper-based landline telephones, newer alternatives are either unavailable, too expensive, or are unreliable when it matters most: in an emergency.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, only a quarter of adults in the United States still have landlines and only around 5 percent say they mostly or only rely on them. The largest group of people holding onto their landlines are 65 and older. Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of adults are using wireless phones only.

(snip)

AT&T recently asked the California Public Utilities Commission to end its obligation to provide landline service in parts of the state. The Federal Communications Commission, which has to approve a request to end service, said it hasn’t received one from AT&T.

(snip)

Hundreds of California residents called into CPUC public meetings last week to share their opinions on AT&T’s request. The vast majority said maintaining landline service was a safety issue, citing power outages, wildfires and floods as times when their landlines are the only way to reach 911 or get information on evacuations. Many said eliminating landlines would disproportionally affect elderly, disabled and lower-income people.

More..

https://www.yahoo.com/news/landlines-dying-lifeline-174845208.html

[kimbutgar]

1. I've had the same landline number for 30 years

Hard to give up. I had AT&T and they changed to an internet system and the phone never worked. I switched over to another company ooma that’s been pretty good but have to reboot the system every few weeks.

[No Vested Interest]

3. 63 years here - same phone number since marriage

despite five moves, mostly all within the same zip code.
Have flip-type cell phone, seldom used, though it's convenient for holding phone numbers I don't call very often.

[malaise]

11. 32 years

A friend I hadn’t seen in 30years returned home and called the other day and was thrilled when I answered😀

[Trueblue1968]

13. Same landline number foe 42 years. I will not get rid of it.

[Arthur_Frain]

19. I've always had one.

And sometime in the next 18 months, I will cancel my cellphone for good and go back to landline only.

I can’t wait.

[malaise]

2. I learned that they survive hurricanes way better than cell phones. Just unplug the electric handsfree and plug

in my old model.

Not giving it up

[PSPS]

4. When the cell towers go out or all the power is out, landlines continue to operate.

[Hekate]

5. Our main reason for keeping our landline as long as we did was for emergencies...

Anyone remember the Northridge Earthquake? We lived 100+ miles north, and the roll of the earth woke us up. Immediately after, our power went off and stayed off. I knew I could get San Diego on my clock radio if the fog & atmosphere were right, so I tried my car’s radio to find out the epicenter and extent of the quake. The electrical power was still out over a wide region when my sister phoned me from Massachusetts — from her landline to mine — to see if I was okay. I said yes, and asked her what her TV news was saying.

We moved, we now have a Spectrum bundle for the house and I have a cell phone. I am not being a Luddite when I say that giving up something as old and reliable as landlines to our homes seems a dubious tradeoff. Why not both?

[RSherman]

6. I don't get cell service

I hate that I have to keep my landline. The plan is something like $35/month but once they add all the fees and taxes (which should be illegal), it gets up to around $60. But, until my town gets reliable cell service, I need the landline. And, given that so many people are discarding their landlines, I remain flummoxed at how bad the plans and the service are. I get only 30 minutes long distance. Minutes do not roll over. Frontier offers only two plans. Quite often caller ID doesn't work. A few weeks ago, Frontier went down and my neighbors had no phone or internet service for two days. Same with Dish. I called last year to cancel and the rep. pleaded with me for over 20 minutes. I said, you know and I know, that everyone is cutting the cable and satellites and streaming, so you think you could do better with packages and pricing. They are dinosaurs looking demise right in the eye and still refuse to change. SMH.

[elocs]

7. I don't have a land "line" but have had a cordless VoIP phone for 20 years now

and it hasn't cost me a cent. Yes, when the internet is out, so is my phone service but that has rarely happened.

[question everything]

16. What about rural areas that do not have Internet connection? Or low income that cannot afford it?

[Takket]

8. i have AT&T VOIP and a Verizon cell phone. Most people i know only have the cell phone

I keep the home phone because i have an ANCIENT bundle price with it they don't even offer anymore lol and as insurance in case the cell phone ever doesn't work.

[Fla Dem]

9. I have a land line and cell phone. No plans to get rid of my land line.

I just like talking on it more than my iphone.

[question everything]

17. Same here. And then there are some who are trying to text to my landline

doctors offices because this is the number they have on record. I got a "smartphone" only three years ago.

[moonscape]

18. This happens to me all the time. Even

acquaintances ill say ’didn’t you get my text?’ when I know they don’t have my cell number. People just assume every phone number is a cell!

[Gidney N Cloyd]

10. I converted my ATT landline to an ATT cheap plan cell phone 2 years ago.

I've mostly used my cell line for the last 15 years or so but I'd had the landline phone number for 40 years and through 4 area code changes so I was a little attached. Plus, the idea of having a backup line with a different carrier (my main cell is currently TMobile) seems like a good idea. Both cells can interface with my former landline system so I have extensions around the house-- which was a nice impetus initially but I'm finding it less and less necessary as time passes.
Both cell phones can cast a hotspot if the Xfinity Internet goes down, so that's another plus.
I've also got an emergency Tracfone in the car since my 2G Hyundai Bluelink expired-- at $80 a year it's actually cheaper than the Bluelink subscription was.

[Straw Man]

12. I had my last landline in the early 2000s.

I lived in an area with poor cell reception and frequent lengthy power and cable outages. Although I had a cell phone and a VOIP service, a landline was a necessity for emergencies, IMO.

I managed to finagle a Verizon rep to the find me the cheapest, most basic service available. It turns out that there was a $19.99 per month plan that charged 10¢ per minute for all outgoing calls, plus fees for long distance. The rep was even surprised at its existence. She also advised that if I ever cancelled the plan, they would mostly come out and pull out the copper lines, since they were trying as hard as they could to phase out landline service.

I moved out of there in 2015. I wonder if they ever came and pulled out those wires.

[Beacool]

14. I have a landline.

After 9/11 and the blackout that occurred two years later, the landline was the only thing that worked.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. We have a landline with a residential cordless system and two of these:

The old phones have **never** failed us.