I remember with great fondness when my parents got me what was called a Teen Talk Line when I was about fifteen or so. The phone company called the second line by this name because so many parents would get that second line just for teenagers so they could keep their main line free for important calls. Call waiting was not in existence yet.
My love of being on the telephone began at an early age and the phone was always attached to my ear. I would wake up to the telephone call of my best buddy and often fall asleep talking late at night. For an extra $12 a month, the main line was free and I was a happy camper. I don’t love talking on the phone as much as I used to mind you. But, I still log in my fair share of phone hours. However, my cell phone gets much more attention than my lonely house phone.
More and more people I talk to are getting rid of their land line phones in favor of just maintaining their cell phones. I haven’t done this yet. The reason is simple for me. I have DSL with my local phone company. I made a 1 year commitment on my DSL and it is a package deal. I don’t have long distance on my land line; I use my cell phone for that.
My other reason for maintaining my land line is my cell phone is not 100% reliable here in my home. It works great down the road but not always in my house. I can text all day long but sometimes I have to hold the phone just right to get a signal, which is a pain. Of course, I signed a contract on my cell phone too not knowing the service would be as it is. That said, I would be lost without my cell phone. 
I also found what looks to be a great read on cell phones on Amazon. It is called Money from Thin Air: The Story of Craig McCaw, the Visionary who Invented the Cell Phone Industry, and His Next Billion Dollar Idea.
What about you? I would love to hear from my readers on this one. Do you have a landline? If so, why do you keep yours around? Have you canceled your home phone and gotten everyone mobile phones? Does this save you money? Are you happy with your decision?
8 Responses to “Has The House Phone Become Obsolete?”
Jendi
1 year ago
We kept our land line because of DSL also. Now that we are in an basement apartment we don’t have a land line, and we have to stand in the window to get good signal. LOL At least I have Twitter through cable!
Amy
1 year ago
lol Jendi. I can picture you standing in the window…kinda like me holding my phone upside down to send a text.
Debbie
1 year ago
We have our landline because of DSL, too. If and when we can get rid of it and keep our internet connectivity, we will do that. That’s part of the whole dream of having the smartphone (blackberry or iPhone) and mini laptop down the road…
Amy
1 year ago
I hear ya debbie…thx for your comment!
Erin Hill
1 year ago
Ya know I haven’t even thought of getting rid of the landline but that’s because my current cell phone can only hold a charge for 5 seconds.
But my husband just got an iphone and still uses the landline at home because he says it’s more reliable, so we will probably keep it.
Amy
1 year ago
Hmmm…perhaps a new battery is in order Erin? That happened to me too.
Danielle
1 year ago
We don’t have a land line. We had prepaided phones and Vonage and when we moved last summer I did that math and realized if we just went to our cell phones it would be the same amount. My husband and I share 700 minutes and we have verizon so mobile to mobile is great! Last month we used 116 anytime minutes and 160 mobile to mobile! Can you tell we don’t talk on the phone a lot!
Amy Hass
1 year ago
Thx for the comment Danielle. Good to see you are able to save that money!