slo’s FRIDAY 8/19 poll - Landline

[_19disnA]

For those saying it’s easier to talk on landline why not use cell phone on speaker.

Sound quality of most speaker cell phones is very poor. Sounds fades in/out and if the person is moving around can be very hard to understand what they are saying. Some also have an annoying echo or tend to increase the background sounds. I don't find it worth talking on the phone if you can't hear what they are saying.

 

[georgina]

Got rid of the landline when we moved last year. Our old house had the same phone # for about 50 years, except for the area code change (DH's parents and then us had that number).

I think DH said we have one through our comcast/xfinity package? but have no idea what it is, and no phone hooked up to it

 

[Dead2009]

Haven't had a landline in a long time, primarily because the only ones that were calling were those automated calls talking about bill payments and what not.

 

[tvguy]

For those saying it’s easier to talk on landline why not use cell phone on speaker. Then you’re not holding anything.

We got rid of our landline about 5 years ago.

The Law Enforcement Officer and Fire Department person who came to our National Night Out neighborhood gathering said people with elderly family members might want to consider keeping a landline. If there is an emergency and they are able to call 9-1-1 but can't speak, the emergency dispatch center gets your exact location with a landline. With a cell phone it is within 100 yards. If you live in an apartment complex, that may require them to search 100 apartments in that distance to find you.
And the big safety issue that came up in the Santa Rosa wildfire in 2020 was the dependence on alerts going out via cell and WiFi signals. The cell towers all burned down. The landlines, which are underground, never went out. One of the hospitals called all the TV stations and asked us to tell their employees to check in on the hospital landline numbers, which were working, not their supervisors cell phone numbers, which were useless.

 

[mamamelody2]

We got rid of our landline several years ago. I don't miss it at all. The only calls I got on it were spam or my mom and my mom could just as easily call my cell. We only kept it the last couple years we had it because my youngest was sometimes home alone and didn't have a cell yet.

 

[barkley]

And the big safety issue that came up in the Santa Rosa wildfire in 2020 was the dependence on alerts going out via cell and WiFi signals. The cell towers all burned down. The landlines, which are underground, never went out. One of the hospitals called all the TV stations and asked us to tell their employees to check in on the hospital landline numbers, which were working, not their supervisors cell phone numbers, which were useless.

when pg&e took down the grid due to fires it included the cell towers in some areas. family members who live in one of those areas were among the only residents for miles to have phone access to fire and rescue. large demand after that occurred to have landlines installed.