Tag Archives: telecommunications technology

Get rid of the land line? Not just yet

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My cousin has just announced she’s pulling the plug on her telephone land line.

She and her husband are going totally cellular.

Oh, my. My wife and I have struggled with the idea of getting rid of our land line. Neither of us is ready to make the leap.

Our sons are both land line-less. They enjoy the mobility. They are among millions of Americans who no longer use a phone book. Need a number? Go to some app in the cell phone and look it up.

I admire them for the courage it took for them to cut the cord … so to speak.

Me? I am a bit spooked by the commercials by our telephone and Internet provider about the unreliability of cell phones if you have to make an emergency medical or police call. You’ve seen ads like them, with the little kid calling 9-1-1 on a cell phone, but the connection is breaking up. The dispatcher can’t understand what the kid is saying. The voice-over tells you that land lines are more reliable. Don’t give ’em up.

OK. I’m a believer.

My wife and I will reach that point in our lives when a land line is no longer applicable. That’ll be when we hit the road in our fifth wheel for points as-yet unknown. We plan to spend extended periods on the lam.

For now, though, we’re tethered to the land line. I’m a bit of an old-fashioned guy, so I’ll keep the home phone until we no longer need it — at all!

Good luck to my cousin who’s made the leap of faith.