AT&T has been raising rates on land line users up to 50 percent, the Today Show reported Tuesday morning, causing some customers to kiss their land lines goodbye.
We asked Patch Facebook users whether they still had land lines, and whether they were worth paying more.
No surprise: many had already ditched their land lines. But others said the threat of cell phones going out in an emergency mean land lines are still necessary.
In their own words, here's what our Facebook users had to say:
From Redwood City-Woodside Patch Facebook:
- The day that we lose our signals from our cell phones is when we'll think twice about keeping a land line.
From Rohnert Park-Cotati Patch Facebook:
- Yes, still have one. Pay 50% more? Only if they can block all the telemarketers.
From San Carlos Patch Facebook:
- No I do not, as of 10 years ago>
From Santa Cruz Patch Facebook:
- Yes, I'm keeping it. It works when there's a storm and the power goes out. Also, my DSL internet goes through it.
- We live in a zone that can't get cell service so what will happen to people like me?
From Cupertino Patch Facebook:
- I have one - the power goes out frequently here and I am always the first to report it on my landline.
From Half Moon Bay Patch Facebook:
- I prefer our landline! Can't stand talking on my cell... so uncomfortable and annoying! Would I pay 50% more?? NO!
From Mill Valley Patch Facebook:
- I still have a landline because I think it's more reliable than a mobile line (though I have a mobile line, too).
From Mountain View Patch Facebook:
- Honestly we keep it for emergencies mostly because we are parents. If it were just me, or just us, we might let it go, but with kiddos, well, caution reigns!
From Napa Valley Patch Facebook:
- No. I do have an old telephone and my cell. No paid landline. Mr Roker's comments are not quite true. You can plug a landline phone into your old jack and still reach emergency services. If your phone is disconnected, you can still call 911. This was part of the original privatization decision for telephone companies and upheld when Bell was split into the RBOCs.
During an earthquake or an emergency, you should not be using telephone service for anything short of life threatening issues.
From Pacifica Patch Facebook:
- What about the elderly? Nobody ever thinks of them. Cell phones are difficult for them. Paying extra because you need a landline is ridiculous..
- Gotta have a fax number
Are land lines worth the cost? Tell us in the comments below.
Another reason is maintenance and repair: They have to come to you to fix a land line, but you can only fix a cell phone by bringing it to them. Fisher-Price came out with a line of vintage plastic pre-school toys and one of them was a rotary dial phone with an attached corded headset that sat in a cradle base, all made of different bright colors. Remember those? I watched a parent hand one to a young child who just stared at it in complete puzzlement. The little boy had no idea what it was, and yet tried to use many other different hand-sized objects as a cell phone. It was hilarious and a profound realization of change.
uh, there are these newfangled cordless phones that let you move around. I think they've only been around since the 70's. And there's even newer things like in-ear phones and something called bluetooth. They also work with land lines.
Also, you can have your old landline number ported to your cellphone.
As a contractor in a competitive market I need email on my phone and internet for reference. I could choose not to carry a SMART phone and get away with it, but my clients appreciate relatively quick response to emails when appropriate. Most of the emails I get do not require immediate response but I get one or two a day which are time sensitive. Ninety percent of my business is repeat customers so they have come to rely on me to know that I at least read their emails within a couple of hours and will respond quickly when needed. Jim, I am thinking you oppose anything with the name "SMART" (-: SMART train, SMART meters, SMART phones? I see you started posting again as Ricardo Charducci after a lengthy hiatus. Why the two identities?
Regardless of what you call the W755, it weighs 3.6 oz. and has a 1.9” display. For comparison the iPhone 5 weighs 3.9 oz. and has a 4” display. My phone the Galaxy S2 weighs 4.1 oz. and has a 4.5” display. Not a huge spread in weight there and far from heavy Jim. Everyone has different preferences and needs so whatever works for the individual is the best choice in my opinion.
Just having all my contacts with me enabled me to unleash myself from the office which made me more efficient. My time is best spent during the day in the field in front of clients, potential new clients, and at jobsites managing projects and our crews. Having a large contact manager on my phone is as important to me as the ability to read, send and receive emails. Those are the two top benefits to me besides being portable. By the way, another tidbit in the land line vs. cell phone issue: With the likely upcoming area code overlay in Marin everyone will soon have to dial 10-digits with every phone call which is going to be a pain from land lines. Cell phones will be less of a hassle as long as you have the area code already entered on every contact on your cell phone; you will not even feel the change.