The Associated Press: Wireless-only households state-by-state — I discussed this trend on the Tech5 podcast. It sucks. Wireless phones stink. They break up, they drop off, they are crummy. AND they are more expensive.
State-by-state prevalence of households and adults with cell phones only, according to estimates released Wednesday by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ordered from highest to lowest prevalence of cell-only households.
Estimates subject to some error because of survey sampling and design of the estimation model; the range of potential error varies by state.
Oklahoma: 26.2 percent of households, 25.1 percent of adults
Utah: 25.5 percent of households, 23.9 percent of adults
Nebraska: 23.2 percent of households, 22.4 percent of adults
In other news, old man yells at cloud!
The expense of a landline is why there are fewer of them these days. We haven’t had a landline for four years, just cell phones.
they may be crappy and cost more, but I don’t get telemarketers calling my cell phones.
There is optimal middle ground (at least for me). I get my Internet service from the phone company so the basic phone service is mandatory (so far). However, I run my own Asterisk server and use pay-per-call Teliax service. What does that get me? Reduction in about 350$/yr in taxes and fees per that automatically go with regular long distance service and significant reduction in actual long distance calls costs (we call internationally a lot so guestimate is 500-700$ savings there). And everyone needs to have cell phone anyway….
Haven’t had a land line in 5 years. Savings pay for cable modem. Verizon wanted $125 / mo. for 2 land lines (one DSL) so, adios evil empire.
What was strange, when I canceled the land line, Verizon just asked where I wanted the final bill sent. No “Why are you leaving”, or any “please let me reduce your bill” baloney. Just, adios.
OK, good riddance. Adios to you, Verizon. My 3G/Edge connections are land line quality.
We’ve had a few power outages over the last few years, so I make sure we always have at least one old style phone line-powered land line phone in the house, if for nothing else, to call the power company and complain. We try to use the cell phones only for emergencies, such as “I’m working late and I don’t want to wait half an hour for the late bus in the freezing cold — come pick me up!” The two pay-as-you-go phones have cost us about $200 (including the phones) in the 6 or 8 months since we got them.
Yes, I ported my landline number to Cell. What a great advantage. Save myself $65 a month.
I would have kept a landline but for our small town their is no competition so costs for landline is terriable. I think you will see more doing this as a cost reduction.
More expensive? I’ve SAVED money since giving up my landline. I don’t pay for long distance anymore.
Ditto #8. All that’s happening is that we’re catching up with the rest of the world, once again. We are the laggards when it come to sensible living.
Some folks just think Americans are required to spend too much on commuting [see SUV’s], telecom, heating and cooling homes.
Most of the rest of the educated industrial world drives more efficient motor vehicles, has better-built and better insulated homes [which is why US building code always tails the Euro code] and started seriously walking away from land lines a decade ago.
But, then, we still have a political minority who thinks this is how God and the Republican Party ordained Americans should live.
Some kid must have walked on John Dvorak’s lawn recently.
Maybe it’s because I’m older (50), but I can’t imagine not having a landline for a home. I mean, the home isn’t going anywhere. I couldn’t get DSL without a landline. I don’t lose or break any cellphones. When I go out, I don’t have to worry about people phoning me while I drive. I don’t have a long distance carrier, so I save big there.
What’s not to like? People ask me how I can live without a cellphone. I reply, “Very nicely, thank you! 🙂 “
Verizon wants $75 a month for a home phone service. MetroPCS wants $45, and I can carry my phone just about anywhere. You do the math.
P.S. Glugory had me cracking up
“It sucks. Wireless phones stink. They break up, they drop off, they are crummy. AND they are more expensive.”
What the hell are you talking about? Haven’t had a landline for years. No issues. The only inconvenience is that I have to bring my cell phone whereever I go, rather than having a phone terminal in every room. But, that’s actually not a big deal since I have voicemail.
I didn’t go to cell. Our cell phones are pre-pay. No telco phone line, but 12Mbps wired internet and 1 Gbps wired LAN in the house (so if I download video I can stream HD-quality anywhere in the house). Everything we watch we watch online (all tv’s have computers on them), and I use IP phone. Talked the cable company down to $65 a month.
The big money saver wasn’t to go to some cellular internet plan, but to drop cable TV entirely and use the cable line for phone service. Saved about $100 a month.
I have T mobile hotspot. When I’m at home my phone switches from cellular to VOIP (which improves call quality). Actually I programmed the phone to do this at various locations (some wireless networks require passwords….) Wifi seems to use more battery though.
SO far so good,
though I still have a land line. Its becoming redundant.
After Verizon cut off our home land line service TWICE for zero reason what-so-ever (and took a week each time to correct their idiotic mistake…without giving a crap or a credit for our inconvenience), we are now willing to go with a so-so local wireless provider in my area…which is no where near any decent sized metro area. So much for my home DSL, though..I’ll live.
I switched to a Tracfone and a MagicJack and yes it is about the money John.I love the old man yells at cloud comment.
I saved a ton of money by getting rid of my land line. My cell is cheaper by about $10 per month and no one was calling me on my landline anymore. Everyone knew I had my cell with me always and would call me there. Land lines are for the gray-hairs.
I almost never use my landline and will happily ignore it when it does ring becauase everyone I know has my cell number.
But I remember that my Sprint Cell phone idn’t work almost all day on 9-11 (and I was in Florida). I have been unable to use the cell phone during things like Hockey games in Montreal.
I keep it for emergencies but it wil be the first thing to go if I have to cut costs.
Full disclosure – I have worked at several phone companies including one now.
Do you see the phone companies crying over the loss of landline customers? No. they don’t care because there is no profit anymore.
The bucks are in cell plans, internet and business customers.
But I do love the complaints. People treat phones just like the airlines. Everyone wants first class at coach prices. Remember the Sprint commercial that you could hear a pin drop. Those days are long gone.
As for myself, I have no traditional landlines. I do have two VoIP lines. I need those for the home office. And I am about to port my cell numbers from a monthly cell plan to pay-as-you-go. Significant savings there. But let’s keep that to ourselves. I still need to feed my family…