Call me old school but we still have a ‘land-line’ telephone at home. However a year or so ago we bundled our internet and cable service to include our telephone service. There was a financial incentive to do so at the time. I am actually not sure that is still the case.
Another aspect is that when the phone rings at home it is nearly never for me. There are few people that call me at home – those that know me call me on my mobile or at work. Consequently I try to avoid answering the phone at home even though we have caller ID.
Hurricane Irene (which actually ended up being a tropical storm by the time it reached us in Connecticut), wrought havoc with so many things including our cable, internet and telephone service. My wife was able to route the calls to her mobile phone – which was just fine by me since they would not be for me anyway.
Yesterday we woke up to having no home phone service. When we reached our cable provider they told us they could schedule a service call Sunday from 2-5 (it was Thursday), or the following Tuesday from 8-11. Who are these guys – the phone company? The cable and internet continue to work and for whatever reason my wife can receive calls to our house on her mobile phone once again. But we are unable to dial out of the house for what will be at least the better part of a week. What kind of service is this?
At one point having a home security system necessitated having an actual land line since the system was routed through phone lines. But then if your phone line is out so is your security system. I have no idea now that I think of it how our security system is tethered at present.
What does it all mean? Well for one thing that I am seriously thinking about NOT having a telephone land line anymore (my wife will no doubt have something to say about that). Both of our children do not have land lines and operate only on their mobile phone. It’s only a problem if the phone is not charged – or it gets lost. I noticed a statistic this week that apparently a mobile phone is reported missing within one hour. However, reporting a lost or stolen wallet takes much longer. There’s no doubt about what people value more.
With service like what our cable is offering I sure hope our cable and internet don’t go out.
Are you still tethered to a land line? Thinking about cutting the cord?
The Way I See It - Mark Kolier 
When my cable contact is up next year I plan to cut the land line. I will probably use a Magic Jack or Ooma or maybe add a pre-paid cell that stays at the house just so we have a “home” phone, but the need isn’t really there. The absurd amount I pay each month is not worth it for the minimum amount it gets used.
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Five years without hard line. But heaven forbid if my internet goes out.
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