We could talk all day about dropping your land line and switching your place to a mobile-only household. But the truth is not everyone has followed our lead. Do you know exactly what percentage of US homes are without land line phones? Is it one in four, one in seven, or one in 12?
The answer is roughly one in four US households was land-line-less at the end of last year.
Results from the National Health Interview Survey released yesterday showed that around 24.5 percent of US homes have dropped their landlines—that translates to about 52 million mobile-only adults lived in homes with no landlines.
The survey also showed that certain factors made a household more likely to have dropped their land line.
Two-thirds of households with adult, unrelated roommates reported having only mobile phones. Renters were around three times more likely to live in spaces without landlines.
I'm a renter and until this year had lived with roommates, and I'm definitely mobile-only. But my parents are homeowners who were ahead of the curve in dropping theirs.
Do you fit the profile? Let us know in the comments!
(Image: Flickr user cheningilles under license from Creative Commons.)
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Comments (13)
There's only one company in the UK that can provide internet NOT over phone line, Virgin. And it's going to be a couple of years before they come anywhere near where I live!!
So I'll be sticking with my phone line, and so will 99% of us Brits.
I still have a landline and have no intention of getting rid of it. The only cell phone I have is a pay-as-you-go for emergency, otherwise, I rarely use it. I guess I'm really behind the curve. But I had phone use during the big blackout in the Northeast, unlike my cellphone only friends. :-)
i have been mobile only for about 8 years and now, i'm thinking of going back. since i have a direct line at work, skype/facebook at home...who needs to throw away $70 a month on something that's not really getting used?
I have a land line that I'm not getting rid of.
When I changed my cell phone number, I decided not to give it out to very many people because I can't stand to be in line at the bank, or in the aisle at Lowe's, and someone calls just to 'chat'. So, I give my land line number out and when I'm expecting calls that I really need to get, I have the land line 'call forwarded' to my cell phone. This has really helped me not be so annoyed at getting calls at the most inopportune and irritating time 'just to chat' . . . and the caller doesn't realize that they've been forwarded.
Works Beautifully.
Just my 3 cents.
Buel
I have a landline that I would love to get rid of but unfortunately it is my source for DSL. In my state they don't have anything like "dry loop" DSL connection. You have to have an active phone line and registered phone # to receive DSL. Therefore I'm stuck paying for a phone I don't use. I'm considering going with cable internet, but hate to have to change providers, email and all the inconvenience that goes with it. Plus, getting a cable connection to where I need it is logistically a problem too since I am in an old building and running surface mounted cable just doesn't appeal to me.
i have a landline and i'm not getting rid of it because of emergencies. during power outages nothing else works! it has saved my butt more than once and others in my complex came to my apartment to use the landline.
plus, how else can we escape the matrix?
We require a land line for the internet at our apartment, but even if we didn't I'd probably want to keep it... It ties to the apartment buzzer instead of our cell phones, long distance plans are better, and if the power goes out I can still keep in touch with a land line, whereas it's a virtual impossibility via cell phone.
When I bought my house last fall, I got my first land line in years. It was necessary for my alarm system.
However, I'm all mobile in terms of communication; in fact, I don't even keep a phone plugged into my land line.
@mariss hilarious!
I have a land line as well .
I have AT&T, so I can't cut the cord.
I don't have a land line in my apartment, and I miss it. I hate talking on my cellphone most of the time, it's an awkward shape, and if I ever lose it somewhere in the apartment- I'm screwed.
I've experienced one too many blackouts to mention. So unfortunately, I have to keep the landline with local service. Otherwise, I would of cut the cord a while ago.
@ brennak
Since I became land-lineless (and love it) I use this for long calls where I don't want to hold my cell.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/cell-phone/8928/
Also, I'm surprised about the landline-blackout issue. In the throes of 9/11 I was getting calls through on my cell when landlines were block - obviously we didn't have the power issue at the same time.