Pulled the plug on the land line

[Getback]

Been thinking about it for years. After I upgraded to u-verse it turns out I don't need a phone line with my DSL. In fact the whole connection type changed. So I dropped the land line after having one for 36 years. Never answer that phone anyway. All people who call want money (donations). In fact I renamed it the beggars line.

[Wayout]

Are you using Voip or cell?

[Getback]

Are you using Voip or cell?

Cell, not so big on Voip.

[Anaxogoras]

It's a racket that so many DSL offers require home phone service.  I've been without a land line for a year now.

[Sandman]

Once my kids move out, my land line is history.

[RipChord929]

Is this something different? Other than the phone via ISP thing going around these days?
I never use my hardline either.. But I keep it, trimmed to barebones, its only 11 bucks a month..
Because we get heavy storms that blow in from the Pacific in the late autumn.. 100mph+ winds!!!
It knocks over the 20ft thick 150ft doug firs.. Which always wipes out the cable, its the first thing
to go, then the power... Cell towers get damaged as well.. So I keep the hardline, because its
underground, and has its own integral power source... Other that that, its HAM radio time...

Is there something I'm missing, commo wise???

RC

[Hoarach]

Im starting to get really irritated and jealous that everyone is getting U-verse.

Living in a pretty big suburb, think that AT&T would hurry up and make it available in my area. 

[John Curnutte]

 This is a funny post because I was wondering why I keep the hard line , I never pick it up and the ringer is off cause its to loud .
I believe I'll cut it off I also have u-verse and don't need a hard line
                    Nutte .
                                             

[APDrone]

As logical as it seems to terminate the land-line because you live with your cell phone instead, I would ask that you consider the tendancy of cellphones to be completely useless in times of crisis.

Exactly when you need a phone the most.

When the tornado sirens sound or when a major storm blows through, our cell system is instantly overloaded and you cannot rely on the service to be there.

Sure.. you can save a few dollars and 'stick it to the man' by shutting off the land line...

But when you NEED the service.. are you willing to trust the cellphones?

I'm not.

[Getback]

As logical as it seems to terminate the land-line because you live with your cell phone instead, I would ask that you consider the tendancy of cellphones to be completely useless in times of crisis.

Exactly when you need a phone the most.

When the tornado sirens sound or when a major storm blows through, our cell system is instantly overloaded and you cannot rely on the service to be there.

Sure.. you can save a few dollars and 'stick it to the man' by shutting off the land line...

But when you NEED the service.. are you willing to trust the cellphones?

I'm not.

I weighed that. There are many considerations besides the obvious. If you have a security service for instance. The big one though is what you are pointing to, security and dependability. Cell batteries don't last and towers may be overloaded.

Here's how I reasoned it out. Who is using my land line, not me, the beggars are. If my cell goes dead because I lose power I have a car charger. If the cell towers are that overloaded the land lines will be as well. Additionally if there is that much going on any help by police, fire, or paramedics will be slow as well. The big risk again is the 911 call although you can do that as well from a cell phone. The thing I am not certain of is does your cell # display at the 911 site and does your address. I just don't know.

If it were more than me I might reconsider. It's just me.

However, excellent points 

Here's an article of things to consider. I fall in the category of happy empty-nester. (Wait I don't remember the word happy)

Addendum: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cheap/20030917a1.asp

[APDrone]

...
If the cell towers are that overloaded the land lines will be as well.
...

I think this is a terribly wrong assumption.

It would be interesting to know what the cell capacity vs. subscriber ratio is.  For instance, if there are 100,000 cell customers in a city, will the cell hardware be adequate to handle all 100,000 at once or some fraction of those subscribers. 

I cannot believe they would install enough hardware to handle all subscribers at once.. especially when they're probably running at some fraction of a percent during any given time in a non-crisis situation.  The costs would be prohibitive.

[Getback]

I think this is a terribly wrong assumption.

It would be interesting to know what the cell capacity vs. subscriber ratio is.  For instance, if there are 100,000 cell customers in a city, will the cell hardware be adequate to handle all 100,000 at once or some fraction of those subscribers. 

I cannot believe they would install enough hardware to handle all subscribers at once.. especially when they're probably running at some fraction of a percent during any given time in a non-crisis situation.  The costs would be prohibitive.

Spoke beyond my expertise and got called to the carpet. 

Well I did a little research. Could not find a definite answer. Much has to do with the number of towers in a vicinity. Usually in heavy populate areas they are about 5 miles apart. It seems a common number of phone calls they can handle at once is between 300 - 500. Let's consider a single emergency, not probably going to bring things to a halt. However a disaster, hurricane Katrina would. The bridge that collapsed in Minnesota collapsed maxed out the cell towers as well. However as stated in the article, it was a lightly used area. I guess what is needed is how many phone calls can a local switch box handle. In hurricanes, blizzards, tornados, earthquakes all communication is at risk, including cell towers. Like I started, I cannot find a definite answer.

Glad (so far) I dropped the line. Hmmm maybe ham radio is the answer and I know you use to have a ham radio.

[Nilsen]

I got rid of the landline a year ago when i retired. Landlines will prolly only be for businesses in a few years time.

[OOZ662]

In this massive disaster, what's to stop you from running to your neighbor's house to use their phone? (Maybe if you're in a rural area, but how common is cell service in areas that sparse?) If something's caused your home to be the only one within a specific distance to be the only one landline-capable, something is terribly wrong in the first place. If you're trapped in your home, if someone isn't already on their way, they probably won't be any time soon no matter what.

Once landlines start to totally vanish it may become a bigger issue, but for now, no landline for my family.

[Hap]

i also have dsl and can ditch the land line.  i've not due to cost.  $35 a month beats what i would pay for a cell phone.  or . . . have things changed???