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Households should explore pros, cons of dumping their land line, relying solely on wireless phones
By Mary Beth Breckenridge
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 12:06 p.m. EST, Jan 02, 2009
More and more, Americans are hanging up their traditional home phone service and relying solely on their wireless phones.
Maybe you're thinking it's time you gave up your land line, too. After all, 18 percent of U.S. households are cell-only, up from 7 percent four years ago, according to survey results released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before you decide, think through the pros, cons and practical matters, consumer advocates urge. New technology is making it easier than ever to cut the home-phone cord, but let your needs and circumstances dictate the best choice for you.
The biggest benefit, of course, is cost. Assuming you already have both wired and wireless phones, giving up a land line may save you money — maybe even fairly big bucks if your home and cell plans have redundant services such as long distance, voice mail or call forwarding.
Pay close attention to your family's phone use each month, however. Make sure your wireless plan has enough local and long-distance minutes to cover the additional use, and compare the cost of the enhanced cell service to what you're paying now for both lines.
Keep in mind, though, that cellular companies typically offer their services in bundles, so you may have to pay for features you don't want, said Ryan Lippe, a spokesman for the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, an advocate for utility consumers. ''Really, nothing is free,'' he said.
So let's assume you'd come out ahead with wireless-only service. Why wouldn't you make the switch?
Safety concerns, for one thing. In fact, to Mike Gikas, senior electronics editor for Consumer Reports, that's the biggest issue.
A wired phone provides more exact information on 911 calls than a wireless phone does, Lippe and Gikas explained. And that difference may be vital for some consumers.
With a traditional wired phone, Lippe said, your address automatically shows on the dispatcher's screen when you call 911. Even if you can't speak, safety forces will know where to find you.
The source of a wireless call, however, is identified in a less precise way. Most counties in Ohio, including Summit, Stark, Medina, Portage and Wayne, have fully implemented a system called Enhanced 911, or E911, to locate wireless callers. That system provides emergency responders with coordinates that allow them to plot the caller's location on a map, and it also provides the caller's phone number so responders can call back if necessary. The information is fairly precise, but it's not as exact as an address, said Shawn Smith, 911 coordinator for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
(By the way, E911 is also the system used for voice over Internet protocol phones, which transmit calls via the Internet rather than phone wires. Depending on the service provider, the dispatcher may or may not get your full address when you call from a VoIP phone.)
Another drawback of going strictly wireless, Lippe said, is the potential for losing phone service during a power outage. Traditional corded phones — not cordless models — are powered by electricity that comes through the phone line instead of your home's electrical wires. If the power goes out, your phone company is required to provide at least four hours' worth of emergency backup power to your phone, Lippe said.
There's no similar requirement for wireless providers, which are regulated less stringently in Ohio than traditional phone companies, he said. So if the cell towers aren't working, or if your cell phone's battery goes dead and you don't have an alternative way to charge it, you're out of luck.
Other issues may have a bearing on whether you need to keep your home phone. For example, how's the cellular call quality inside your house? Do you have dial-up Internet access or an alarm system that requires a phone line? Are you vigilant about keeping your cell phone's battery charged, and how long does the battery last? Will you need to make international calls?
Then there's the question of a possible connection between cell phones and cancer. While studies have shown no consistent link, scientists say more research is needed, according to the National Cancer Institute. That's doubt enough to give some people pause about using their cell phones frequently.
The 911 and power-outage issues, particularly, lead Lippe and Gikas to believe a hybrid system is a better choice for most homes than an all-wireless option, at least for now. That means keeping one traditional corded phone with minimum service for emergencies but using your cell phone to make all your calls.
AT&T's bare-bones home-phone service is $14.25 a month, not including taxes, said Jamie Carracher, AT&T Ohio spokesman. Additional discounts are available for people who meet income qualifications, he said.
Regardless of whether you give up your land line, however, technology is making it easier for you to use your cell phone at home. So you don't have to carry your phone with you all the time or walk around with a Bluetooth receiver in your ear.
Several phone systems are available for around $80 to $130 that send your cell phone's signal to cordless handsets or even standard corded phones in your home. You can use those phones to make outgoing cellular calls, as well.
Your cell phone just has to be within a certain distance of a cordless base for the system to work, Gikas said, so you can leave your cell in the area of your house that gets the best reception. Many of the systems can also work with your land line or Internet phone, allowing you to make or receive calls from either.
Some even work with more than one cell phone at a time. Xtreme Technologies Corp.'s XLink BTTN, for example, works with three.
The systems use Bluetooth technology, so you need to have a cell phone that's Bluetooth-enabled.
Consumer Reports tested three such systems — the AT&T EP5632, the GE 28129FE2 and the Panasonic KX-TH1212 — for its January issue. All worked well, Gikas said, although voice quality wasn't quite as good as with a land line.
You can't use the cordless handsets for some cell-phone features, such as speed dialing, text messaging or Web surfing, the article noted. You can, however, pick up a call on multiple extensions at the same time, Gikas said — a plus when the whole family wants to talk to Grandma together.
It's a good idea to check with your wireless provider to see what services it offers. T-Mobile, for example, offers a T-Mobile @Home plan that gives qualifying cell customers an Internet home phone for an additional $10 a month, plus a one-time cost of $40 for an adapter or router.
With a little research, you just might ring up some savings on your phone service.
That's always a good call.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com.
More and more, Americans are hanging up their traditional home phone service and relying solely on their wireless phones.
Maybe you're thinking it's time you gave up your land line, too. After all, 18 percent of U.S. households are cell-only, up from 7 percent four years ago, according to survey results released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before you decide, think through the pros, cons and practical matters, consumer advocates urge. New technology is making it easier than ever to cut the home-phone cord, but let your needs and circumstances dictate the best choice for you.
The biggest benefit, of course, is cost. Assuming you already have both wired and wireless phones, giving up a land line may save you money — maybe even fairly big bucks if your home and cell plans have redundant services such as long distance, voice mail or call forwarding.
Pay close attention to your family's phone use each month, however. Make sure your wireless plan has enough local and long-distance minutes to cover the additional use, and compare the cost of the enhanced cell service to what you're paying now for both lines.
Keep in mind, though, that cellular companies typically offer their services in bundles, so you may have to pay for features you don't want, said Ryan Lippe, a spokesman for the Office of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, an advocate for utility consumers. ''Really, nothing is free,'' he said.
So let's assume you'd come out ahead with wireless-only service. Why wouldn't you make the switch?
Safety concerns, for one thing. In fact, to Mike Gikas, senior electronics editor for Consumer Reports, that's the biggest issue.
A wired phone provides more exact information on 911 calls than a wireless phone does, Lippe and Gikas explained. And that difference may be vital for some consumers.
With a traditional wired phone, Lippe said, your address automatically shows on the dispatcher's screen when you call 911. Even if you can't speak, safety forces will know where to find you.
The source of a wireless call, however, is identified in a less precise way. Most counties in Ohio, including Summit, Stark, Medina, Portage and Wayne, have fully implemented a system called Enhanced 911, or E911, to locate wireless callers. That system provides emergency responders with coordinates that allow them to plot the caller's location on a map, and it also provides the caller's phone number so responders can call back if necessary. The information is fairly precise, but it's not as exact as an address, said Shawn Smith, 911 coordinator for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
(By the way, E911 is also the system used for voice over Internet protocol phones, which transmit calls via the Internet rather than phone wires. Depending on the service provider, the dispatcher may or may not get your full address when you call from a VoIP phone.)
Another drawback of going strictly wireless, Lippe said, is the potential for losing phone service during a power outage. Traditional corded phones — not cordless models — are powered by electricity that comes through the phone line instead of your home's electrical wires. If the power goes out, your phone company is required to provide at least four hours' worth of emergency backup power to your phone, Lippe said.
There's no similar requirement for wireless providers, which are regulated less stringently in Ohio than traditional phone companies, he said. So if the cell towers aren't working, or if your cell phone's battery goes dead and you don't have an alternative way to charge it, you're out of luck.
Other issues may have a bearing on whether you need to keep your home phone. For example, how's the cellular call quality inside your house? Do you have dial-up Internet access or an alarm system that requires a phone line? Are you vigilant about keeping your cell phone's battery charged, and how long does the battery last? Will you need to make international calls?
Then there's the question of a possible connection between cell phones and cancer. While studies have shown no consistent link, scientists say more research is needed, according to the National Cancer Institute. That's doubt enough to give some people pause about using their cell phones frequently.
The 911 and power-outage issues, particularly, lead Lippe and Gikas to believe a hybrid system is a better choice for most homes than an all-wireless option, at least for now. That means keeping one traditional corded phone with minimum service for emergencies but using your cell phone to make all your calls.
AT&T's bare-bones home-phone service is $14.25 a month, not including taxes, said Jamie Carracher, AT&T Ohio spokesman. Additional discounts are available for people who meet income qualifications, he said.
Regardless of whether you give up your land line, however, technology is making it easier for you to use your cell phone at home. So you don't have to carry your phone with you all the time or walk around with a Bluetooth receiver in your ear.
Several phone systems are available for around $80 to $130 that send your cell phone's signal to cordless handsets or even standard corded phones in your home. You can use those phones to make outgoing cellular calls, as well.
Your cell phone just has to be within a certain distance of a cordless base for the system to work, Gikas said, so you can leave your cell in the area of your house that gets the best reception. Many of the systems can also work with your land line or Internet phone, allowing you to make or receive calls from either.
Some even work with more than one cell phone at a time. Xtreme Technologies Corp.'s XLink BTTN, for example, works with three.
The systems use Bluetooth technology, so you need to have a cell phone that's Bluetooth-enabled.
Consumer Reports tested three such systems — the AT&T EP5632, the GE 28129FE2 and the Panasonic KX-TH1212 — for its January issue. All worked well, Gikas said, although voice quality wasn't quite as good as with a land line.
You can't use the cordless handsets for some cell-phone features, such as speed dialing, text messaging or Web surfing, the article noted. You can, however, pick up a call on multiple extensions at the same time, Gikas said — a plus when the whole family wants to talk to Grandma together.
It's a good idea to check with your wireless provider to see what services it offers. T-Mobile, for example, offers a T-Mobile @Home plan that gives qualifying cell customers an Internet home phone for an additional $10 a month, plus a one-time cost of $40 for an adapter or router.
With a little research, you just might ring up some savings on your phone service.
That's always a good call.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
This Place, 32
Posted 02:36 PM, 01/02/2009
"Regardless of whether you give up your land line, however, technology is making it easier for you to use your cell phone at home."
Technology is making it easier for me to use my cell phone at home? Yeah, it's been quite the transition. Astonishing really. I take the phone that I carry around with me all day, and use it in the house. What next, two pieces of bread with meat in the middle, and someone will call it a sandwhich?
akron, oh
Posted 02:53 PM, 01/02/2009
"What next, two pieces of bread with meat in the middle, and someone will call it a sandwhich?"
The article it not referring to carrying your cell phone around your house with you. It is about the home phones that are blue tooth enabled so that your cell phone calls are transferred to your home phones. That means you don't have to carry your cell phone all around the house and can answer your cell phone call on ANY house phone extension. It does make it simpler to use your cell phone at home. And as the article mentioned, especially for homes that have poor cell phone reception in parts of the home.
Maybe reread the article and increase your understanding of what is written before you criticize.
akron, oh
Posted 03:19 PM, 01/02/2009
We got rid of our land line, we never use it. Only to call for a pizza or something like that. We were paying over 80.00 a month for a line we never used. Everyone calls us on our cell, so much easier. We are saving money now.
akron, oh
Posted 03:20 PM, 01/02/2009
Saved ourselfs over 80.00 a month by getting rid of our land phone. No internet not needed.
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 04:12 PM, 01/02/2009
I cut my phone bill by $125 a month when I dropped my landline phone service. Cell offers free longdistance and every feature imaginable for a whole lot less. Remember in this depression, savin g your cash is key.
akron, oh
Posted 04:26 PM, 01/02/2009
An $80 or $125 savings on a landline is too much in this economy for most people. The article mentions the economical $14.25 option for a landline. I think the smaller amount is worth it for me. In cases of emergency they immediately have my address making the response time quicker.
This article was too long and probably should have been more to the point. I doubt that many people read the entire article and missed many of the benefital points of keeping a landline.
Akron, OH
Posted 05:11 PM, 01/02/2009
OMG, why was someone paying $125 a month for phone service anyways?
Posted 05:23 PM, 01/02/2009
I can't begin to add up the $$ I saved when I dumped my SBC Ameritech land line. Truth is.. I really don't like to think about it.
When I think back to all the money I spent with them - money disguised as service fees, tax on service fees, line taxes on the taxes of the service fees for the land line... I wanna throw up.
It got to the point where I couldn't even understand my phone bill.
I now pay $19.95 a month - and the fee is always the same - and can pretty much call anywhere I need to.
SBC, Ameritech, MCI... were all crooks.
Akron, Oh
Posted 05:25 PM, 01/02/2009
My landline provider is offering free long distance now.
tallmadge, oh
Posted 06:54 PM, 01/02/2009
Why in the world would any logically thinking person pay $125 for home phone service...........interesting from the guy who is on such a tight budget that he can't AFFORD to support the schools!
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 07:42 PM, 01/02/2009
Unlimited long distance incoming via a personal 800 line and international calls really raise up the rates when you use AT&T.
Stow, OH
Posted 09:55 PM, 01/02/2009
I think back to 9/11...living in Atlanta, GA at the time...the land lines were working but most cell phone circuits were jammed or down. I'll keep my bare-bones land line in case of an emergency, thanks very much.
Akron, OH
Posted 10:56 PM, 01/02/2009
Land lines were just as locked up considering the cellphones calls still get routed through the same systems eventually.
Posted 01:48 AM, 01/03/2009
Phone company insisted that the static on our line was not their fault, and they wanted $75 an hour to come in the house and fix it. So I canceled our last two landlines and added two more cell phone lines for $9.95 a month each. Now the cable TV/internet company wants us to sign up for a VOIP phone. The last two times we had a cable TV outage, it took this company a WEEK to fix it. I'm supposed to go that long without phone service?
Posted 05:01 AM, 01/03/2009
Give up your landline, and schools have no way to automatically call you when there's no school. Cell phones should be banned! I'm sick of all the idiots driving down the highway talking on their cell phone and not paying attention to their driving. I've almost been hit many times by these jerks! I wish Ohio would ban use of cell phones while driving!
Posted 05:08 AM, 01/03/2009
Where's my comment?
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 08:39 AM, 01/03/2009
I have kept my land line for many years. I pay no more than 50 bucks a month for it and I still use it often. I use my cell phone occasionally for business and some local long distance calls. On the weekends, the cell phone is off and all calls forward to my land line.
Anti-Politically Correct & Anti-GOP, OH
Posted 08:41 AM, 01/03/2009
Just don't use your cable company for phone service....too unreliable. I have never had a problem with AT&T land lines and I've had a phone number with them for over 20 years.
Posted 08:59 AM, 01/03/2009
just remember cell phones tend to not work during disasters. my land line has only gone out once in ten years
Akron, OH
Posted 11:29 AM, 01/03/2009
@Retired, what? You can register any phone number you want with your school district to receive announcements.
Posted 11:51 AM, 01/03/2009
I don't care if I ever have another land line again. I get as good -or better - service with Vonage and I know EXACTLY what my phone bill will be EVERY month... no surprises.
it's true that I do lose phone service if the power goes out, but I have a cell phone for that situation.
(And for what it's worth, I didn't lose any cell service on 9/11.)
When I had an SBC/Ameritech land line, my minimum monthly bill was always at least $60, and very often quite a bit more than that. My experience with SBC was very poor - from customer service to repairs.
It was a happy day for me when I called them and told them I didn't need them anymore.
akron, oh
Posted 01:01 PM, 01/03/2009
I pay 50 bucks a month to ATT for a land line
AND DSL connection. i don't see how anyone can say they are paying over 100 a month just for phone service.
Posted 02:15 PM, 01/03/2009
"...i don't see how anyone can say they are paying over 100 a month just for phone service...
Well, to be fair, I don't anymore; and even when I did have my land line it was rare that I would pay $100 bucks for monthly service, unless the wife spent a lot of time on the phone to relatives (who live in Canada).
But I certainly paid upwards of $50 to $60 bucks per month with the land line - which is much higher than the $20 I pay now (which allows me to call almost anywhere in Europe and all of Canada as well).
The way I look at it, it's saving me around $500 a year (likely even more). I don't consider that amount to be chump change.
And I don't have to deal with SBC customer service reps - who were almost always mean, rude, and seemed to always be trying to sell me services I didn't want.
akron, oh
Posted 09:39 AM, 01/05/2009
Pulitzer material!!
