Do you still need a landline?
A new Nielson Reports survey in the U.S. finds about 1 in 5 homes will decide to cancel their landline by the end of 2008. Do you think these numbers reflect Canadian users?
A new Nielson Reports survey in the U.S. finds about 1 in 5 homes will decide to cancel their landline by the end of 2008. Do you think these numbers reflect Canadian users?
While the ailing global economy appears to be hitting harder south of the border — at this point in time, anyway — I’m curious to know if you think this new landline usage finding from Nielson Reports in the U.S. reflects Canadian attitudes and habits, too?
The report finds nearly 20 percent of American homes – or about 1 in 5 of the population – will choose to cancel their landlines by the end of the year, resulting in a savings of about $35 a month, on average (which would arguably be higher in Canada if my landline bill is any indication).
Specifically, wider cell phone adoption is being cited as the key reason, coupled with tightening budgets.
OK, I can see how a bachelor living alone only needs one number for his buddies to reach him, but what about a family of five? I find this study a little hard to swallow, personally.
What do you think? Have you ditched your landline for a cell phone already?
I'm interested………….actually dropped my cell recently as I wasn't using it enough to justify 40-odd dollars a month. Waiting for the new bandwidth and suppliers to hit the market. Also interested in the new option of internet TV as opposed to cable/dish .. Basically, I'm offended at over $200 monthly for access to phone, TV, and internet……….
A landline is all I need… Actually, if I had my choice, I'd go for no phone at all. But with me being in college and all, the parents want to have some form of contacting me- which is completely understandable.
Otherwise, there's no reason for people to have to be able to contact me 24/7. People managed fine without cellphones for ages. Just because it's 2008, doesn't mean you can't live a functionable life without one. I think I'm managing fine so far…
We're all to attached to technology and electronic gadgets… Far too attached.
Just my opinion on things.
Commenting on what Tracy said…and I thougt I was alone.
I just don't like telephones,and I would do without them,
if it wasn't for 911 and things like that.
While there many thousands of Canadians are ready to ditch the traditional telco's they are not doing it yet simply because two of the big three Canadian cell providers are Canada's two biggest telcos. The lone hope are startup cell providers who are at least two years away from starting any service. The time may be right for people to walk away from analog telephone service that has remain technically the same since the switch from rotary to touch tone dialing in the 1970's, given the fees that cell carriers charge Canadians won't give the old fashioned analog telephone service the heave ho yet.
I use VoIP for home phone acces, which i can take anywhere there is a high speed hook up, for phone access, and i don't really care for cell phones
Land lines are expensive. You can buy a prepaid phone for 60.00 and spend 20.00 for 180 days of airtime. These can be bought at Petro Canada. That's 3.00 a month with VM, etc.
7/11 also has a special where you get a free cellphone with 100.00 airtime good for 1 year. VM etc.
http://speakout7eleven.ca/
http://retail.petro-canada.ca/en/mobility/2303.aspx
Land lines are not needed for most people. More Canadians aren't having families. Why not buy something that is cheaper and can go with me?
Voice over Internet Protocol for telephone usage is DANGEROUS and it leaves you without a phone every time the power goes out. It is dangerous because it is NOT connected to the 911 call center and therefore any emergency requiring Police, Fire and/or Ambulance means dialing a specific phone number. This is impossible if the power has gone out. Just a bit of info that VoIP has in the *very* "small print."
I, like others, find that the *need* to be accessible 24/7 an unwanted intrusion into my time for solitude.
Has anyone else thought that people who feel the *need* to be accessible 24/7 have the *idea* that they are *important enough* to be available at every hour of the day and week? Vanity.
I do recognize the usefulness for employment, but would turn it off as soon as work hours ended. I also recognize it *might* be a useful tool for parents to communicate needs of childcare and "pick-up groceries on your way home.
Otherwise? Cellphones are used when people are doing transactions, with the bank-teller, the grocery cashier, etc. This behavior is *EXTREMELY* rude and slows down the process of business. This is, again, because the cellphone user *believes* in their self-importance over the people they are standing in front of while they "take a call" or walk-up for business transactions while already in conversation. RUDE barely covers it, or my hostility at having to listen to inane conversation when all I want to do is go to the bank, library, ANYWHERE without the interuption of phones ringing.
A Cel as your only phone?? What would this do to your long distance calls. On landline you can have your "Long Distance Package" Local xcals are one thing, but long distance is something else. $$$$$$$$$$
Some people here just need to plan it out better.
On Telus, you can get 200 day minutes, unlimited calls from 6pm to 7am, voicemail, caller ID with the EPP 17.30 plan.
Add to that National Faves5, pick 5 numbers anywhere in Canada unlimited calling, no Long Distance, anytime of the day – $15.
Roadside assistance anywhere you go, any car you're in – $5.
My total comes to less than $45 a month and this is much better than a landline. Safer too, with the ability to call 911 anywhere, and roadside assistance.
I did this years ago after Bell screwed me over on my DSL and phone service. For a couple of extra dollars on my cell phone package I got free evenings and weekends and I've been happy.
I use SkypeOut for my out calls during the day ( $2/month for unlimited North America ) and have not missed Ma Bell in my life.
I sometimes wish cell phones had never been invented. I don't have one and don't intend to. The only good reason for having one would be emergencies when travelling!
I think it very rude when people come to visit me and spend half the time talking on their stupid cell phone to someone else!!!!!!! And in public they are annoying. I don't want to listen to someone else's conversation when I am out anywhere!
My landline costs me about $30 a month depending on if any long distance calls have been made. You can't beat that!
I would like to change to a cell phone for me and my wife and dump the landline but, I need it for my computor hookup and more than that I need a line for my Home security service.
We are a Canadian household of 2 adults and 3 children (15, 13, 10) and we are cancelling our landline at the end of this month. We see no reason to duplicate phone service especially since the land line is so much more expensive. It's cheaper to get each person a cell phone than have 1 land line.
we just got our vonage going &told "bell system,its a babysetting dyno these days & totally sucks up my money & no benefits" it should start serving people ..i dont want to serve a "houseline phone"any more its time the systems change &serve people again . a baselind in times of emergency is great ..the web went down this morning &guesswhat…"no phone,no tv,& no pc. so a homeline is good ..but please no more suckingup my money bell system s.. grams
I dithced my landline four months ago – the only reason I had it was for my long distance plan so I could call my mother. Couple of change to my cell phone account and I am saving 70 bucks a month!
been there done that…. i droped my home line and after a few years my cell phone bill got higher and higher, i got home phone from comwave for 10.00 a month + tax and changed my cell phone to bell 28.00 + tax….. ohhh and didnt give the cell number out, thats for me and not my friends to talk on my dollar…..
all about savings these days….
My husband and I are very seriously considering dropping our landline with Rogers ever since they switched all home phones over to the cable system, requiring the phone signal to come in through a modem, which means no phone during a power outage (issue we have with VoIP), and which hiccups at least once a week in our area, dropping calls and losing service for about 15min at a time. Unfortunately, our building uses a phone line as the intercom to the front lobby, which means we would essentially have no doorbell.
I would like to point out how much of a ride these communication companies put us through. Their customer service is almost competely non-existant, relying way too much on automated systems to save them selves money and cause us ALOT of stress. Buisseness used to be about sevice, which blows my mind with communication comapnies especially considering ITS A SERVICE! Now that being said long distance calling is the longest running scam… the infastructure already exsists these companies are posting enormous earnings and my bills just keep getting bigger. I know of places where its long distance to call 10 miniutes away when the reality is thoes calls go through the same checks that a regular call goes through. What or WTF are we paying for? As one person above stated phone, T.V., internet, radio, and satallite is just way too much money and people are beginning to wean out things that they don't really need. Now let me see…all the stuff is in place for these services and they want us to be paying hundreds a month for them? Why can't my landline be a cell phone? Last I checked it was the year 2008 and somewhere in the world someone is making a machine to slam particles together to search for "dark matter" and we can't have both? Our Leaders are failing us, they are letting the fat cats get fatter while the people making 25-30k a year are spending im guessing close to 80% of their net on essentials. Cost of living is going up but paycheques are going down. We need to start holding people accountable for these situations, the thinkers aren't thinking hard enough or about the right things.
Im not totally sure but I think any cell phone connected to a service or not will still call though to emergency numbers and If they don't then wow thats a great idea…
A cost aspect not discussed here is that the CRTC regulates the phone rates, keeping city rates higher to subsidize the rural areas. It will be interesting if that drives us city folks (who have good cell/internet access) to drop their phone line…
My four person family dropped our landline three months ago and couldn't be happier – something no one else has mentioned is that we no longer get telemarketers calling us four or more times every evening…also, for those people who don't think they need to be accessed 24/7 – just turn your phone off – easier to do with a cell phone than with a land line!