Survey sez just 11-percent of Americans rely solely on cellphones
While we're inclined to believe that most of those surveyed are just too lazy to disconnect their landline which hasn't been used in the past 24 months except for picking up a few stray telemarketing plugs, a recent Harris poll reportedly shows that a whopping 81-percent of US adults still have a landline phone in their home. Notably, 77-percent of the test population also had a cellphone while 16-percent had warmed up to VoIP, but a paltry 11-percent of the participants admitted to relying solely on cellphones to get their yap on. Of course, the generational trend was in full effect, as the majority (55-percent) of that small chunk was of the younger set between the ages of 18 and 29. So, dear readers, how many of you are still keeping your landline provider in business for a medium you could easily do without?
Filed under: Studies
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris @ Jun 12th 2007 1:26PM
I haven't had a land line phone since 2001. Well, technically, I had a land line phone for the two years I was in the dorms at college, but I didn't pay for it. After that, when I moved into on campus housing, I started using my cell phone only. I mean really, why have two phone bills?
Heath Stahl @ Jun 12th 2007 1:30PM
Yeah I don't know about that number. All of my friends only have cell phones and have for several years. Only people I know with a land line are my parents and they are looking into VOIP.
Big Sam @ Jun 12th 2007 1:32PM
I haven't had a landline in 5 years (I'm 30)
Omagus @ Jun 12th 2007 1:36PM
Yeah, I'm 29 and haven't had a landline since 2001. Although I have considered getting VOIP.
ketel1 @ Jun 12th 2007 1:45PM
I've relied primarily on my cell, but not solely since 2000. I keep my landline around simply to get the DSL combo discount. It is cheaper for me to carry a basic landline packaged with DSL than to carry DSL only. I do occasionally send faxes for work also...
Johnsie776 @ Jun 12th 2007 1:46PM
I'm 28 and I haven't had a landline that I paid for since 1998. (Baring campus dorms and roommates who insisted)
Mitch @ Jun 12th 2007 2:00PM
Home alarm is the only thing that keeps me on a landline.
Nick S @ Jun 12th 2007 2:00PM
I've got a landline phone, but only because my apartment complex requires it for me to open the front gate for friends and it's the only way the alarm system will work. I asked them about VoIP, but they won't rewire the apartment just for me....jerks.
Bill @ Jun 12th 2007 2:09PM
I have both a landline and cell phone. We need the landline for our alarm system and satellite TV set top box, and we have DSL through that line, plus our cell phone reception at home is sometimes spotty. On top of that, we feel it is simply more reliable in case there is an emergency.
There are still plenty of reasons to have a landline.
paul34 @ Jun 12th 2007 2:11PM
Makes sense. When natural disasters hit, usually the landline infrastructure is more easily and quickly repaired. It's still more reliable.
Cellular networks.. well, I think at least those of us in Florida know what happens after a natural disaster. "All circuits are busy, please try your call again later..." IF you even get a call connection in the first place.
VoIP? needs power.
However, I do agree landlines are veryyy expensive! ridiculous.
just.Rob @ Jun 12th 2007 2:17PM
i certainly hope that no one is relying solely on the cell phone pictured along with this post... correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the tragically awful SE T68i (or something... and god help me for remembering the 'name' of the cell that my dad had in 2002)
Andy Maier @ Jun 12th 2007 2:37PM
Land line phones have only a few necessities - primarily 911 calls - especially from baby sitters at your place. Also, in localized emergencies cell towers get overwhelmed or shutdown completely while landlines are more robust to these incidences. I had VOIP for about 2 years and can tell you the 911 was an issue for us once. The call quality and bridge call capabilities were always less than POTS.
Fred @ Jun 12th 2007 2:53PM
There's two good reasons I still have a landline. Cingular's coverage in our current house is spotty at best. I could get away with it, but it would be painful. In our new house, the coverage is better, but the economics aren't there. Verizon's naked DSL is $42. Comcast's non-cable subscriber price is $49. Add that to the DirecTV Plus DVR price of $49, and you're approaching Verizon's triple play price of $99, for which I get the security of knowing the babysitter has a landline to call 911. If broadband was cheaper, I'd just add VOIP, but the triple play price still beats naked DSL+VOIP. It's the cost of broadband that's keeping the landline around.
Mark @ Jun 12th 2007 3:43PM
Haven't had a landline since I got my cellphone, apart from a couple of stubborn roommates. However, its good to keep a traditional wireline telephone plugged in to the jack - it doesn't consume your power, and you can still use it to dial 911 even if you're not paying for a landline.
aestheticist @ Jun 12th 2007 4:20PM
I'm sure that this survey does not take into account that a lot of areas do not have cable internet available to them. If you want broadband, your stuck with DSL... and so are forced to maintain a landline. I am convinced that AT&T and the like know this. They know that it (generally) costs more to pay for DSL and a landline, than just a cable internet connection.
Garrett @ Jun 12th 2007 4:56PM
nobody in my family but me owns a cell because we can't afford it. and i pay for my own tracfone. we also can't afford broadband internet, so we have dial-up.
landline+dialup < broadband+cellphones.
Philip @ Jun 12th 2007 5:44PM
my dad finally realized after my little brother got a phone that the landline was now for telemarketers. well, and for his father's calls, but...
Zach @ Jun 12th 2007 7:29PM
Yea, guys realize that even if you don't have landline service, still plug one in because you can still call 911 in case of an emergency. Very important still.
Cactus @ Jun 12th 2007 7:47PM
Wha? Where are you guys getting a landline connection that can dial 911 after you've disconnected? Mine sure doesn't... right now my old wired phone is getting power from the landline so I know it's connected - and I hear a wee bit of static - but dialing 911 does nothing. Or anything else for that matter.
I know you can dial 911 from an old cancelled mobile phone, but this is the first I've heard of a disconnected landline also working.
FWIW... I'd probably also be mobile-phone-only if it wasn't for the outrageous international rates. I went with VoIP (SunRocket) for that - and, if I ever choke on a pretzel alone at home (heh, heh) or otherwise can't talk, I figure E911 has a better shot at getting me help than calling from my mobile.
Kris H @ Jun 13th 2007 1:49PM
I'm 28 and my husband is 30. We haven't had a landline for about 18 months. We got one when we first moved into our house 3 years ago because our options for Internet were dial up, dial up or ... dial up!
Comcast later got the neighborhood set up with broadband, so, I signed us up.
And that began the slow death of our landline, which was only used by doctors and people wanting us to answer surveys.
Qwest couldn't get our billing right when I cancelled the dial-up. Took six months of calling in to get it off our account. We still ended up paying a ton for services we hardly used. They turned off the landline and we paid the bill then wiped our hands of it. Even the $12 or so for the basic landline seemed so ridiculous.
Besides, my husband and I have plenty of minutes on at&t, since we have about 4,000 Rollover minutes at our disposal.
I understand the idea of having a landline with the point of it being an insurance plan of sorts for worst case scenarios.
vrn @ Jun 13th 2007 5:02PM
I guess this is really interesting to me because I know what you mean when you say that cellular service is spotty in the US. Back at home, however, cellular networks have better coverage and more resilient - so much so, that it's usually easier to call a friend on his/her cell phone than to hope the landlines work. Especially true during monsoon seasons - the cellular networks keep on chugging while the landlines get soaked in water. I think our family moved to mainly cellular calls in 2001, and we've never really looked back.
LeQuinte @ Jun 16th 2007 2:09PM
Not counting the landline in my dorms, I've never had a landline. I was able to manage with a Cingular GoPhone (monthly) for 11 months before moving to Verizon's EasyPay and eventually to contract. I've had few service issues but I think that it was the phone. I have no desire to get a landline with Embarq. Most of my friends and family have cell phones only since MetroPCS is available where they live. Hence, landline plus domestic LD >= cell only. I have no computer, so no need for a landline or cable. I have no idea why mom has a landline... she almost never uses it to justify the ~$40/month. I gave her a cell phone and I suspect that she uses it more anyway (the home phone doesn't ring and that's fine to her LOL).