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Published Tuesday, January 05, 2010 in Local
Telephone 'land lines' obsolete?
By Jeff Bishop
The Newnan Times-Herald
Many people have given up on their old telephone "land lines" -- one study suggests that 22 percent of households have already cut their land-line service entirely -- but soon you may not have a choice in the matter.
In a Dec. 21 filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), AT&T argues that telecommunications companies can't achieve Congress' goal of making broadband Internet access available across the country if they still must operate the old land-line systems.
AT&T is calling for the FCC to seek input on regulatory changes to enable a transition away from the copper phone lines that currently dot America's landscape.
That means that the one in five Americans who still rely exclusively on land lines may be forced into some type of new replacement technology as the major wireline telephone providers back away from what many are now saying is a dying and expensive business.
Many local people have already jumped ship.
"The only reason I have a land line is for my fax machine," said Newnan resident Summer Miller Shirley.
"We finally got a dependable broadband connection and went full VoIP. Two lines, one for work, one for home -- one is via Comcast, the other via T-Mobile@Home. Both work great," said Mike Patterson of Newnan.
"The reason? The old BellSouth line was dependable but expensive," he said. "By restructuring our phone/cable TV/internet service, we're saving about $80 a month.
"In recent developments, we suddenly get a good cell signal at home, so the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) lines will go as soon as my contract is up," he said.
Some have tried going "all wireless" and suddenly felt vulnerable.
"We tried it for a while, but went back to a land line," said Ellen Bell Hamrick, a Newnan native who now lives in Norcross but still talks to Newnan family members often by telephone.
"We felt like we needed the land line for emergencies," she said.
Turin resident Angela Banks Tinsley said she doesn't feel comfortable cutting off her land line just yet.
"We can't cut ours off because our cell service isn't reliable way out here in Turin," said Tinsley. "We would rely on our land line in an emergency ... We'd be lost out here without a land line."
Others have cut off their land lines and have never looked back.
"I haven't had a land line since 2005 and I don't miss it," said Dr. Georgina DeWeese, a teacher at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. "Last April I had to call 911 when my baby was choking, and I had no problems using my cell phone."
"I haven't owned a land line for probably 10 years," said Ryan Vila, a Newnan native who now lives in Atlanta. "In the beginning I just used my cell phone but later I started using VoIP (Vonage) because it's cheaper and gives me the ability to use regular phones. I like using speaker phone capability for work rather then wearing a headset or using my cell."
With AT&T now basically admitting that the old land line system is obsolete, it might not be too long before those land lines go the way of the old rotary phones.
Broadband is available to 90 percent of Americans now. Getting it to the last 10 percent or so who don't have it will require an investment of $350 billion or so, according to AT&T.
Moreover, revenues from land-line business and the public-switched telephone network are in "a death spiral," the company says.
"Revenues from (those services) are plummeting as customers cut their land lines in favor of the convenience and advanced features of wireless and VoIP services," the filing says.
That creates a big problem, according to AT&T.
"Due to the high fixed costs of providing (land lines), every customer who abandons this service raises the average cost per line to serve the remaining customers."
But many local residents hope to hold onto their land line service just a little longer. Palmetto resident Hilary Morgan says that she still find the old land lines useful, in some cases.
"We have had our land line for FOREVER..." said Morgan. "We mostly use it for screening purposes, and when we don't want to have our cell phones annoyed with appointment confirmation calls or automated notifications and stuff.
"We never answer it -- all calls go to the machine," she said.
Comment On This Story
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Someone convince me that internet based phones won't go out when your cable does and I'll consider it. I have a 92 year old mother six miles away. If cable goes down (and it does), the landline phone is available while a comcast (in this case) phone would.
Posted by LC Sloan at 12:20 PM
landlines are not just copper, they are also fiber.they are a better more dependable service. if att, verison and quest had used the 300 billion+ dollars in goverment funds and the xtra charges they added to your bill to do what they said they were going to do(upgrade and repair and extend service by 2010. instead they started their towers and wireless service which has to go to fiber to work?? don't maintain their lines because they won't need as many employees. the servce is far from better just cheaper. believe me when i tell you it won't be cheaper for you after they get rid of all the small rural companies.
Posted by charlotte barry at 5:12 PM
I'm sure their competitors are thinking the same thing. AT&T Verizon, Qwest and SBC.
Posted by c at 11:37 PM
do they ever loose power? do they have an alarm system? do they care about global warming from microwaves? do they care if we are frying the bees with radiation, not to mention our children? shielded wire is better for our future if we care.
Posted by c barry at 3:55 PM
Yes, I have a cell phone and a landline and yes I am on the no-call list. Cell phones rates are much too high and then the infernal contract! If it weren't the charge for incoming calls I might consider having only the cell phone. If used my cell phone as I use my land line my bill would sky-rocket...and who wants to pay for incoming, unsolicited sales calls????
Posted by frances at 3:18 PM
Cynthia - call your natural gas provider, they will deliver a tank, fill it will gas, and voila, your gas appliances (stove, water heater, etc ) will work. Check to see if you have a well for your water. Also see if there is a septic tank on your property for waste water. You may have to take your own trash to the dump. If you're renting call your landlord and ask these questions.
Posted by Bebe at 2:06 AM
Utilities like the poles. It is claimed that it is cheaper to run wires above ground as opposed to burying them. Of course, when the lines go down for whatever reason -- weather, trees, accidents -- there is an attendant cost of repair along with loss of service to a large number of customers. But then, the utility doesn't have to pay for the loss of food in your freezer or refrigerator. A perfect time to have buried cables in East Coweta was during the widening of GA 34. Instead, we have the network of wires just waiting to come down. You have to understand that if the lines are buried then there wouldn't be a need for extra linemen which would add to the unemployment rolls.
Posted by coweta cur-mudgeon at 5:51 PM
Does that mean we can get rid of the awful telephone poles???
Posted by dont leave me hanging on the telephone at 8:26 PM
Cynthia. The county does not run gas lines or cable lines. And I bet if you looked you probably have county water in your area.
Posted by I Climb Poles Jr at 11:58 AM
I haven't had a landline for 6 years now and I haven't missed it. I have an extremely reliable cell phone and it goes with me everywhere. I never miss a call and my provider has only been down once in that 6 years.
Posted by Nunya at 6:08 PM
I have no cable here i am in rural Meriwether county. I use ATT internet and have the wireless router and my t- mobile wi-fi phone for calls. I use my cell thru that. And all calls made thru that does not charge minutes. It works great. You can use it for 911. I have not had a land line for over 2 years.
Posted by kathi at 8:48 AM
Do any of you that are getting rid of your land lines have a home security alarm?
Posted by joy at 3:39 PM
What about those that live in Coweta County off Roscoe Rd. after Jim Starr Rd.? We don't get cable, water, or gas!!! The county will not go past Jim Starr with any of these utilities!
Posted by Cynthia at 1:17 PM
America is a capatalistic society and a country based on freedom. TO BE FREE IS TO HAVE A CHOICE! If you want your land line then choose to keep it as long as you can. And when you can't for whatever reasons...choose to live in a country where you can or accept the fact that this isn't the 1970s and choose to invest in the future....$$$$$$
Posted by entertained by cowetians at 11:43 AM
I too lost all cell communications after 9/11 but was blessed to have a land line that worked. Scary to think that in another attack our communications would be crippled when a land line could be a literal lifeline in such a case. With the great protection our current prez is affording us, this is not an unlikely scenario. The aborted bombing effort on that plane was just a test that others of his ilk are watching to see what will work in future attempts.
Posted by concerned citizen at 10:41 AM
When I ditched my land line mine kept a dial tone for a few months or so but that went away. Now only free silence...
Posted by felix at 7:14 AM
It is kind of sad to see landlines go. I remember how excited I was to get a phone in my bedroom when I was young. It just seems like the mystery is gone from everything. Nothing is left to the imagination you can connect with people unseen for 20 years in mere seconds now. Crazy how things change so quickly.
Posted by spidermonkey at 5:27 AM
I have recently purchased an Ooma Telo and intend to bid farewell to AT&T and my constantly rising phone bill which is currently about $120.00 per month. No more monthly phone bills sounds great to me. With Ooma you get every service you can get from a land line and you pay less than $100.00 a year.
Posted by dobbeanne at 11:34 PM
Since when does this country act like another country telling us what we will be forced into doing?
1/5/2010
Have you ever heard of 8-track tapes? VCR? It's not socialism, it's capitalism. When there aren't enough people to support a technology, those people will be "forced" into a new one (CD, MP3)
Posted by Trevor at 11:34 PM
Felix Just get an answering machine. Its like having a butler to answer it for you. Charter or anyone trying to sell something will just leave a message with the answering machine or not. And also, sales calls can come on the cell phone as well. You have to put your numbers on the do not call list, and that takes care of most calls.
Posted by Jennifer at 10:27 PM
If you give up your land line then how does your security alarm work?
Posted by joy at 8:57 PM
If Charter cable calls me one more time and offers me their stupid bundled service (cable t.v., cable internet, land line) I'm gonna burst! I'm tellin' ya nobody but nobody who does not currently have a land line wants one...
Posted by felix at 8:21 PM
We no longer have land line service at our house. However, the phone has a dial tone and I can use the line for calling 911. This is a "free service".
Posted by Emergency Calls at 6:43 PM
This article says "That means that the one in five Americans who still rely exclusively on land lines may be forced into some type of new replacement technology". Since when does this country act like another country telling us what we will be forced into doing? Do I hear socialist in this tone?
Posted by jennifer at 5:32 PM
By definition, antiques ARE "still around." I'm not responsible for what you mistakenly read into what I didn't say.
Posted by exasperated at 5:29 PM
I know ATT is trying to make us think one thing. I refuse to give up on my land line. I do have a cell phone too for emergency purposes in my car or when out in general (not to yap while driving), but the quality of the calls on a land line are waaaay more better then on a cell phone. Even answering the phones on my job I can always tell when someone is calling in on a cell phone. ATT...give Bell South back its job. I hated the merge to begin with. There is nothing wrong in having both kind of phones. In my opinion the cell phone company's charge way too much for their service and they have all kinds of competition. Why do people need so many anytime minutes? What is so important that hundreds of hours are needed? Do these people have a life????????? The phone is their life????????? . Scotty beam me back in time.........please.
Posted by jennifer at 5:20 PM
What are all the junk fees supposed to be used for? Look at your bill. Why should I be held partially responsible to see that someone else has a phone or can use a computer??? If the charge for 911 service is so that there can be an "enhanced service" then why does the 911 operator waste time by asking for my address when I make a real 911 call??Why is it when I call ATT do I get someone in Mumbai who is reading off of 3 x 5 response card and cannot make a decision without consulting someone else's 5 x 7 card ???
Posted by coweta cur-mudgeon at 4:55 PM
What will this do to the E911 system? Will they still be able to identify the location of the caller in an emergency?
Posted by John Bob at 3:20 PM
If I did not have a land line, I would have to drive about half a mile up the road so my Verizon cell phone would get a signal.
Posted by Susan at 2:59 PM
Don't worry amazed! I have had Vonage (VOIP) for several years and recently had an ADT security system installed. It will work with Vonage, but if power is out, etc. it will not work. So for reliability reasons we had a cellular transmitter with a battery backup installed and it works fine. This is actually better than the conventional method since the first thing a burglar is going to do is cut your land line before triggering your alarm system. I am currently considering going all cellular and dropping Vonage. The only problem is a weak cell signal in my area. I am looking into the Verizon femtocell which boosts cellular signals in your home using your broadband connection.
Posted by voip for life at 2:14 PM
We didn't have internet for a week after September 11th. Unfortunately, some of the hub (I don't know the term) equipment was destroyed, and we were 60 miles away. We couldn't call on our cell phones either. That's why I keep my land line.
Posted by Jen at 2:07 PM
Of course AT&T wants to end plain old telephone service. They can make way more money if everyone switches to VOIP and cell phone service. Unfortunately as others here have noted neither IP based voice communication nor cellular service has the reliability or voice quality of the land lines. This is exactly why I still maintain the old land line. It costs me about the same as it would with my cable company but quality is way better. My in-laws and friends at work have IP phone service and it is terrible.
Posted by John at 1:27 PM
Personally, I never use my land line telephone, but what about the visually impaired and elderly people that rely on a phone they are familiar with and is large enough to use. I know from time to time, I have trouble seeing the numbers on my cell, so I know the elderly would have a big problem if land lines were cut out all together.
Posted by Dee at 1:25 PM
Sunday night when temps were in the teens, our power went out. Not good on a bitterly cold night in an all-electric home. Our cordless phones didn't work but our trusty land line was unaffected. High speed IS superior but when the power goes out, aren't you stuck? All that technology is moot with no electricity but a land line isn't. Cell phones don't hold their charge forever. They need power, too. Given that very recent experience,I'll keep my landline, thanks.
Posted by Wants a phone that works in any circumstance at 12:14 PM
Obviously the convenience of cell phones is why they are popular. But that doesn't mean they will stay around either. Time has a way of changing everything. And for the person that says most things weren't good anyway that aren't around anymore...tell that to antique dealers, people that love antique cars, and the reason why retro is so popular. Obviously another young whipper snapper that has no clue. Your day is coming, and someone will tell you that you weren't so great anyway otherwise you still would be working. Most of us don't complain with things we had growing up, they were great...better things and times than now.
Posted by Saddened at 11:37 AM
I know when we had just a phone line, nothing on it at all just a dial tone. Before taxes and surcharges it was 18 dollars. After all the taxes and surcharges it was 36 dollars. That is way too much for just a phone line.
Posted by yepyep at 11:36 AM
Our home security system is connected to my landline. Will this work still with VOIP? That is the only thing that has tethered us to the land line!
Posted by amazed! at 11:33 AM
One-hundred year old device considered obsolete by large portion of the population. The "cell phone" replacing it is smaller, lighter, convenient, and cheaper. News at 11.
Seriously, is this news? I thought everyone knew this. The only people I know that really use their land lines are my grandparents. Everything is moving to a data based system. Roll out the fiber to everyone, which has significant advantages to copper anyway, and it's all good.
Posted by Citizen at 11:04 AM
The phone wiring in my house went haywire years ago and no one's ever been able to locate the problem -- so we went VoIP via our cable TV internet connection and haven't looked back. As for things we grew up with not being the same anymore, most of those things weren't all that great anyway -- otherwise they would still be around.
Posted by exasperated at 10:47 AM
Land lines are a must for us. We have tried 4 different cell phone providers. None work at our home. Our line line works during all kinds of weather and is needed for emergencies and screening calls. We will keep it as long as it is available. Cost can never be an option when you do have an emergency.Reliable service can be all important.
Posted by Barbara at 10:32 AM
please read the quote properly ! It says e-x-c-l-u-s-i-v-e-l-y ! ! ( NOT MISLEADING ! ,no wireless option in household ). That means that your grandmother or whoever that can not program her stove clock will be helpless in the new technology.
Posted by Mark at 10:11 AM
The article is not necessarily misleading, Hardliner. The way I read it, those statistics mean that 22 percent have cut their land line, 1 in 5 relies EXCLUSIVELY on their land line, and approximately 3 in 5 use both a cell phone AND a land line. I can see how you might have been mislead, though. Numbers are tricky things. Now on a personal note, since giving up my land line over 3 years ago, the only thing I've missed is telemarketing calls.
Posted by Bob at 10:02 AM
Hardliner, it's two different statistics. 22% have cut their landline service entirely - most use an alternative like cellphones. One in five, the second statistic, relies EXCLUSIVELY on land lines.
Posted by Barrie at 9:54 AM
We live in a (very) rural area where AT&T does not provide DSL. If it weren't for the fact that we have become so dependent on the internet, we would have gotten rid of our land line a long time ago. AT&T charges us over $200/month for two phone lines and local dialing access to Metro Atlanta area codes. We are seriously considering having DSL installed through HughesNet, if AT&T doesn't. Whether or not they want to keep our business is up to them.
Posted by Nickled and Dimed to Death by AT&T at 9:52 AM
I've repeatedly requested a line upgrade in our community. Our line was originally installed in the 60's, barely supports voice and in no way can provide DSL service. ATT has made itself a relic of the past for one simple reason, the inability to provide customer and community support. They've left the gap for cell to fill. I foresee the trend to move away from land lines to continue.
Posted by JtS at 9:52 AM
No, it's not misleading, you misunderstood, Hardliner. It's two different statistics. 22% have cut their land line service entirely - that's the first statistic. These folks have opted to cut their land line in favor of using an alternate device such as cellphones. One in five Americans rely exclusively on land lines - that's the second statistic. Exclusively means they do not use cellphones or alternate communication - they rely only on landlines.
Posted by Rebecca at 9:24 AM
If the "study suggests that 22 percent of households have already cut their land-line service entirely..." That means four out of five Americans still rely exclusively on land lines. NOT the "one in five" As Jeff stated in this article.
Posted by Hardliner at 8:48 AM
Let them go they are too high anyway in a time when we can hardly make ends meet. Who need a cell and land line. Let the land line go
Posted by Denise at 8:28 AM
Like so many things we have always relied on...now the land line is going too. I think this is sad. Nothing we have ever grown up with is the same any longer. The cell phones are obnoxious, people talk and drive and talk in resturants, talk in offices all around coworkers(loudly) and nothing is sacred any longer. Years ago there were phone booths so you didn't have to hear the person's conversation. Now we are forced to hear them or watch out for them driving while they are having their conversation. I am not for losing a land line. It's been the most reliable utility during a storm I have had. Why is it since BellSouth went to ATT now it has become a losing business for phone lines??? I love ATT U-Verse but I love my land line too. I believe ATT needs to figure another way of keeping this beloved icon.
Posted by Jennifer at 7:41 AM
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RE: Retired employee AT&T
1/30/2012
Link To This Comment
Hello,
A while ago my power was out for several days due to a severe storm, I do have a cell phone but could not charge it in my car and didn't want to do that to drive with trees falling down etc. anyway I was so thankful that my land line was working..my friend who has telephone comcast service, her phone was not working.. she is in her 80's..thank God her Son went over to check on her..
Please leave the land lines..
Posted by Leonora Keathley at 6:14 PM