To Landline Or Not To Landline...

[AKL_Megs]

... That is the question.

We are buying a house soon, and my DH wants to install a landline when we move in.

I am against it, for many reasons. We are NEVER home. I am not kidding. Our careers keep us away from home. I am gone for 3-5 days at a time, and my DH works nights and daysleeps. With that said, everyone calls ME on my cell, and IMO, the only people who would be calling during the DAY when my DH is sleeping would be telemarketers. Tell me this, other than family and friends, who really calls YOUR landline?

We get free long distance on our cell phones, so it is not like we would even use the landline for those types of calls.

Even if we get the most basic of plans, we still will have to "think" about who we are calling, because it could be an "out of zone" call, which would make our bill more expensive anyways!

I get the fact that the phone is nice for emergencies, calling 911, or when the power is out.

I can honestly see us STILL using cells more with a landline, and having a machine full of telemarketer calls.

So, tell me... to be or not to be...

 

[Tiggeroo]

I do not believe people in your situation need landlines. But if dh is determined consider Vonage because long distance is free and it is a good price.

 

[golfgal]

If we did not have kids we would not have a landline. The only viable argument your DH has is the 911 service, that would concern me but other then that, I wouldn't get one. We have free long distance with our land line and we still use our cell phones for long distance calls. I think just to have our landline is $40/month. We have DSL for internet so we have to have a landline for that.

If you do end up with a landline, register your home number and your cell numbers with the do not call list so you don't have to worry about telemarketers.

 

[ICF]

can't lose a landline....or wash it in your pantspocket (not that I would no ANNNNYthing about that!).

We have both.....

 

[DVCisME]

My son turned blue when he was an infant and I could not imagine what that would have been like calling 9-1-1 without a signal.
I think there a service provided by verizon that you can have the cell phone and house phone with the same number, not positive though.

 

[3boymthr]

Are you buying a house or building a house?

In your situation if buying a house, landline service is not necessarily necessary, but...one thing to keep in mind not every house has reception. Mine doesn't. Absolutely positively no cell reception inside the house and it doesn't matter what service provider we use. Not kidding. It's due to the geography of the land my house sits on. If you look at a map of service for any carrier for my street, my house and the one next to it are in a big gaping empty spot. Barely any reception in the driveway or anywhere in the yard (1 bar and sometimes none, it depends on where I stand). So we have to have a landline if we want to do anything that involves a phone, not just 911 but getting pizza, talking to a neighbor, whatever. So don't say no until you've been in the house for a year and know your reception.

ETA - DH works in a lot of houses where he has no cell reception - certain types of construction prevent the passing of cell phone signals, esp brick and stone.

Also, sign up for the do not call list and you won't have telemarketers calling. I did, none ever call.

If building a house, you absolutely must install a landline because the next family to buy your house may not be as fond of the cell phone as you are.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Aside from building a house (need to install the lines), if you don't have kids then I would not get a landline.

 

[dismom2]

I was told to keep a landline because if we need to call 911, our address will automatically show up for them when we call. I think that's important. If someone calls 911 but can't say the address for whatever reason (an intruder takes your phone out of your hand, or your pass out...there are a number of scenerio's possible), the people at 911 already have your address and will send someone out to your house.

I also like to keep both a landline and cell phone because I give different numbers to different people, depending on who they are, and if I son't want my cell phone ringing by people I don't want to have that number. Keeps things simple and nice for me.

 

[Imzadi]

I think the majority of people who still think they need the lineline is for 911 emergencies in which they can't speak or shout out, & 911 can trace the call. I figured, that technology was only developed in the last several years. For the past 4000 years man has been on the planet, we haven't had that ability. Humankind hasn't been on the decline, we have thrived for several millenia without it.

It is a nice convenience to have, but to just believe the phone companies' fearmongering advertising (& those Lifeline Alert ads targeting seniors,) without really examining the true odds of having an emergency in which an average person is actually near the landline phone, can dial 911, but not talk into the phone to give an address, are not very high - unless you are/have elderly or are diabetic and prone to passing out.

Otherwise, people would have to be tethered to their landline phones at their sides. They couldn't go out in their yards, too far from the handset station, & God forbid, they decide to take a walk out in the country with not even cell phone service, in case they fall & can't get up. Truly, people have to individually accurately access the real chances they will be in such danger that we have to have that 911 tracing service (that didn't didn't exist years ago,) hooked up at home.

 

[malibuconlee]

I won't give up the landline. How is cell service at your new place? We recently moved states and the service at our new house isn't great. It's better now, but for the first month my phone wouldn't work at the house. I could go to the driveway and use it, but it rarely would ring if I was in the house.

Are you the type that ALWAYS keeps your cell charged? How about in your pocket when you are home? How big is the house will you be able to hear the phone if you are in another part of the house? I can't not here and not at the other house we lived in. I'm one who gets irritated when someone doesn't call the home first and calls the cell phone. I have landline phones up and downstairs, so I always hear it.

I also like it because we have a baby and just like the other night, the sitter came over and because of her grades her parents took her cell phone away (just one class), but if we didn't have a landline we would have had to leave her one of our phones, mine I guess because my husband's is for work.

Plus we live far from family and it's easier to get on different extensions if we both want to talk at the same time. Can't always hear the best when we put the cell on speakerphone.

 

[malibuconlee]

I do not believe people in your situation need landlines. But if dh is determined consider Vonage because long distance is free and it is a good price.

I have a friend that used Vonage and she had so many problems she had to cancel. Also just so you know, they do not have numbers that are local everywhere. We lived in Manhattan, KS and the number she was given was for Topeka, KS which of course was long distance.

 

[Rora]

I think you should get the landline- like others have mentioned it can be really helpful in an emergency. In addition, do you live in any state where hurricanes might occur? If so, definitely get the landline. I'm from Florida and there are many times when a hurricane knocks down cell phone towers and you won't get service for a long time (even after the hurricane is over!).