I have a tiresome telephone. This once indispensable communications device provides little value any more. Time to move on? 

Sixty years ago, my family installed its first telephone. Back then, it was a lifeline in many ways. Now, not so much. We pay about $20 a month for basic telephone service. But for 90% of the calls, we are paying to provide telemarketers a channel into our home. We rarely answer it anymore without checking call display first.

We get a few telephone calls from older relatives, usually around birthdays, anniversaries or visits. But most of the time, the calls are just junk. Our kids and friends text or call the mobile. This will probably be the year we cancel the service. For the first time in many years, less than half of the households in the United States have a landline. The rates of fixed telephone service abandonment are even higher for younger households. Although many countries still have higher rates of landline use, the decline of their use is pretty much present everywhere.

Simply put, consumers are dropping their landlines because they don’t need or use them, don’t get calls (that they want), and save a bit of money. There are probably only two reasons to keep your telephone. First, it is a lifeline service that always works. You never have to worry about a battery being charged. Second, there are still a few people who will have your phone number (or can find your listing) that might call. A possible third reason for keeping a landline is that it does not need to be upgraded every couple of years. The last major technology upgrade for landlines was the adoption of touch tone dialing fifty years ago. (Although rotary dialing still works in some places.)

Tiresome Telephone and Junk Calls

Unlike the old telephone, there are no “white page” directories in many countries. So, people don’t know your phone number unless you give it to them, or your address, either. (Some countries do have cellular directories, but not Canada or U.S.) We get far fewer junk calls on our mobiles. I get one a week, versus at least ten a day on my landline.

I am thinking that before I cut the cord entirely, I might try using some home telephones that have the “link-to-cell” feature. This would give me the convenience of handsets around the house that would work with my landline and with our smartphones. You can read about these convergence solutions on Consumer Reports.

By the way, the last year that landline penetration was below 50% of households in the United States: 1945!