Consumers Poised To Dump Landline Phones For Wireless

[Jerry Raia]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobilepipeline.com/172900502?cid=rssfeed_pl_mwp' target='_blank'>http://www.mobilepipeline.com/172900502?cid=rssfeed_pl_mwp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. wireless subscribers could make mobile phones their primary telephone by 2009, a move driven less by cost and more by lifestyle, a market researcher said Tuesday. Fully 9.4 percent of the 193 million wireless subscribers today have made it their primary phone, In-Stat said. That percentage is expected to increase from 23 percent to 37 percent in 2009, when the number of wireless subscriber in the United States is expected to reach 240 million."</i><br /><br />Wireless has to get a lot better, as this article points out, before I would make a total switch. The issue of needing the copper line for Internet access also needs to be addressed. Perhaps if we ever see Internet over the power lines more would switch.

[OSUKid7]

Nah, more like dumping landline for VoIP. Wireless just isn't reliable. When I had Verizon Wireless, nearly 50% of my calls were dropped when placed from my house. We even called and VW sent out an engineer to test the signal strength. There was definitely a dead zone around my house. T-Mobile is a little better, but I still get some low signal coverage in and around my house. I'm not saying it's unacceptable, but, well, VoIP does it better, and for cheaper. Just $15/month for Vonage/500 minutes, and I can always forward to one or more numbers (i.e. wireless phone) if I can't miss a call.

[stevew]

I went to wireless phone only and glad I did. Cingular is reliable in my area and I use Clearwire for my broadband internet provider which is wireless also. Another broadband option for me is cable so I don't need a copper phone line.

[mpaquette]

I still have a Verizon landline mainly for DSL. Prices for DSL in my area are far cheaper than cable. The only cable option is a local small time operator that charges $55.95 a month for internet access. DSL is as cheap as $14.95 per month with an annual pre-pay. Unless a cheaper internet access alternative shows up in my neighborhood, I don't see myself dumping my landline even though I rarely use it compared to my mobile phone.

[Mike Temporale]

In some places you can get a plain DSL line without it being tied to a phone number. So that means you can have DSL without getting phone service. I know Bell Canada has quietly launched this, and they are slowly expanding the area it is available in.

As for me, I need a landline. Full wireless doesn't work well in the family environment. 8)

[possmann]

I've been wireless (t-mobile) for almost 4 years now - there is no way I am going to go back to land line... Yah, there are some coverage issues occasionally, but these are getting addressed and resolved.

[randalllewis]

possman:

I'd love to go wireless because I get little value out of my landline these days. My wife is more reluctant, so maybe you can help out from your experience: Like most folk with landlines, I have three phones in different rooms of the house- two cordless and one corded for those occasional banking transactions. I assume with wireless, you carry the phone with you throughout the house. That will require some new learnin'. Are there any other adjustments that you needed to make going wireless? Thanks for your help.

[Santa Fe]

I'd sure like to give up at least one of my land lines but the signal out here in the boonies isn't that good. Has anyone tried the roof mounted booster antennas from some place like Wilson? They cost about $500 but the payout could be quick if they work as advertised.

[ARW]

My wife and I went 100% wireless more than three years ago. It wasn't much of an adjustment for us. For others however it has been a little confusing. By others I mean relatives, typically older, who have a hard time grasping the concept.

We don't have kids, but that is the one area where I can see it would be hard to avoid a landline, whether it be VoIP or traditional baby bell.

[wshwe]

I'm not switching until T-Mobile covers every square mile of the US.