Haven't had a landline in 5 years.

We still have a land line and it's basically because our cable company gives a discount if you get all cable, phone and internet together. Otherwise, i would get rid of it. The only person who uses my land line is my mother in law so i never ever pick up my house phone. lol

We got a landline when we got our security system installed and I kind of love it. Makes our house feel more like a home.

No landline here... though if I had a rotary phone like that, I might want one. :) Hubby and I both have iphones and that's where our monthly investments (?) into telecommunications go. We never miss having a landline. For calls within Canada, we use a calling card which seems to last forever!

Like you, we don't really 'talk on the phone' much anymore.

I do, because of Tivo not for other communication purpose.

Could survey posts actually have a polling widget in them? I'm curious about the overall trend, but not enough to read through every comment :-P

My only landline has ever been my parents'.

I would never get rid of my landline.

If you want to get rid of telemarketers just get yourself on the Do Not Call List.

Yep -- for my security system. I never use it, but I have a old school phone plugged in in case of emergency...

Yes, still have a land line. We put that phone number on all applications (grocery store savings card, etc.) so no telemarketing-type calls come to our cells. Because of the package deal (cable, internet, phone) it's not that much additional cost each month.

Ditched the land line about 10 years ago and never looked back. Even with a security system on my house, it goes to my cell phone.

I got rid of my landline about 6 years ago when I switched to cable internet from DSL. I realize the only people whose landline number I know are my parents. Everyone else just gives out their mobile number.

I need the land line because my major client is old school and I fax bunches!

I'm 24 and have been on my own since I was 18, never bothered to get a landline because I always used my cell phone, even when I lived at home and my mom had a landline.

Nope! Just got my first place in March and no land line.

Haven't had one since 2003!

Um no. But wish I had one so I could lose the cell. Too much accessibility these days.

I only have a land line because it is the cheapest way to go and I don't have a cell phone. I'm on the do not call list so no telemarketers, and I use a phone card for long distance. There are times when I'd like to play around with smart phone functions, but it's not worth the expense to me. I don't have a need to talk on the phone everywhere I go or text people about every little thing. I'd rather spend time with people face to face. What I can do from my laptop is fine with me.

no land line for 5-6 yrs.

I don't know how it works in America but in England, you have to have a phone line to have broadband. As far as I know, if you don't, the only internet you can get is a dongle.

I only use my land line to phone freephone numbers as these often aren't free via mobile!

I have kids, so a land line is essential for emergencies.

All I have is my trusty little refurbished "obsolete" cell phone. I rarely use the phone to talk to people, so for me a landline would have been almost 3-4 times more expensive then the cheapest cell phone deal I could find (a $10/mo automatic top-off pay-as-you go).

Haven't had one in 6 years

Not at the moment but actually thinking of getting one again. I think I'm going to try that Magic Jack thing. I just like the idea of having one and it could come in handy in case my hubby forgets to charge his phone or accidently has his ringer off and I need to get a hold of him. Hey, it happens.

I gave up having a landline about seven years ago, and then convinced my husband to disconnect his when I moved in 3.5 years ago. He had the same complaints (telemarketers, etc.), but just hadn't gotten around to getting rid of the landline yet. Now we're on a shared cell plan and it works just fine.

went landless in 2000.. miss crisper (i.e. easier to hear & no dropped calls) conversations, but generally happy with the trade-off :)

No landline for 11 years - Don't miss it.
And my internet is via the Cable provider.

ditched the landline 3 years ago..

Then this weekend I saw one of those vintage telephone seats.. only then did I long to 'sit and talk' on the phone

I still have a land line. But only to make long distance phone calls - like MonicaK, it's cheaper to have the internet/phone/cable bundle than just the internet and cable.

I have a landline. I also have an old rotary phone in my closet for emergencies...like if the power goes out. But I have kids and live on a Ridge line by the Pacific, prone to power outages. It only takes a day before our cells don't have a charge, and it's either dig out the rotary or sit plugged into the car in the driveway.

Haven't since 2002.

Yes, but I switched to a VOIP a couple of years ago, so at least it's free.

Most people without landlines leave in apartment buildings?

Gave up the landline about 5 years ago after getting a internet number with Skype - now I have two.. one in LA and one in San Francisco which I use for business. They both ring on my laptop so I consider them 'landlines'. Plus I just added a Google Voice number (Palm Springs) which forwards to my cell (another number). Total 4.

Been mostly landline-less for the last six years.

We did try getting a landline for about six months, since it came as part of our cable package. Despite being on the no-call list we were still inundated with calls - charities calling for money (apparently they are exempt), scam calls trying to sell car insurance or new credit cards, and tons of wrong numbers.

We kept it as long as we could stand it and then got rid of it.

I do still think it's a good idea to have a landline for safety reasons - in emergency situations, cell phone towers get clogged and unusable far more quickly. I will probably get a landline when I have a family to worry about. But even then, I have the suspicion that we'll prefer to leave the phone unplugged and only use it for emergencies.

YES, I just got my landline back after 12 years going mobile. My reasons - the unexpected. I have a cordless handset and also a phone that will work in blackouts for real emergencies. Now, my telemarketer busy and delivery reminder calls are just a part of the fun; the line is yet another way my friends hunt me down. Though, there is a strange kick I get walking around with a handset - of familiarity and nostalgia. Its an experience not many more generations may have and so its a strange kind of luxury.

We ditched our landline 8 months ago after deliberating for some time. The emergency-landline was a real concern, but I decided the cost savings was worth the risk.

Ever since the blackout in NY, I'll always have a landline!

I live pretty far from the city. Cell phone reception can be spotty, so it's nice to have a land line.
It also allows segregation of different types of calls. Important things go to my cell phone, but reminders from the doctor go to my land line/answering machine.

The land line doesn't cost much with our current internet bundle and, as others have said, it's nice in case of emergencies.

We do, but we don't give out the number and usually have the bell turned off. The reason we have it is because we went through a days long power failure in December four years ago. When there's no electricity, we can't charge our cell phones and the VOIP doesn't work, but the land line still did. So for emergencies we pay the most basic rate for keeping a land line live.

For that matter, line quality on both our cells and VOIP lines can be kinda crappy, where as copper wire is still clear as a bell at all times.

My wife and I still have one, and we use it (though rarely) more than we use our cell phones. Since we moved, we get it in a cheap bundle with cable and internet, so there's no reason to drop it. Also, the signal always sounds clearer to me--which is nice when you're talking to older parents.

However, I wish cell phones had been commonplace 15-20 years ago when my friends and I all lived with roommates!

everyone should get rid of their cell phone, not their landline.

I've only had a cell for ... a long time now.

I was thinking of getting a land line (even though I almost never talk on the phone) because I get just the worst cell reception ever in my own apartment, so any time I do actually try to *talk* to someone, it's an incoherent, dropped call mess. (I get great cell reception everywhere else.)

The problem is, I don't want to have another number that I have to give out to have people call me on. I would have thought the solution would be just forward my cell phone to land-line whenever I'm physically at home, but of course call forwarding charges for cell phones are per minute?? So that would get ridiculous.

I have the same old land line, it's all I use. I still don't want a cell phone. My life's never going to be that hectic. Downtime is at home and that's where my phone is. If I'm out having fun I don't need it interrupted by phone calls, I can always get back to people later. What's so urgent that I have to talk right now?!?

No. We had one when we lived in an area that got terrible cell phone reception though.

I can't imagine not having a landline. We've got a cordless plus an old rotary phone that pulls its power directly from the phone line so electrical outages don't affect it. I just wouldn't feel safe without these backups in place.

I've never had a land line of my own. My parents have one but no one I know of "my generation" has a land line. I remember in college there was an online tutorial about how to set up your dorm room phone- we all laughed at that. Still laughing a couple years later as our cell phones are always with us and save us money by foregoing the need for an extra utility bill.

My girlfriend is a designer and works from home, so we keep a land line for business calls and faxes. We'd get no rest if clients had her cell number.

I have a cheap land line, but I lived in SF during the '89 quake. I like knowing that it will work in a power outage or disaster. I'm on Do Not Call lists so I only get pestered by alumni donations and political robo-calls.

My parents had their old number for 45 years from 1964 to 2009. The AT&T rep even commented that the account was so old that it predated AT&T's account records going back to the early 70's.

No landline because of cost but I wish I had one to use when the cell clarity is awful. If I ever have one again I'll put a retro corded handset model on my desk.

I haven't had a land line for about 5 or 6 years. I haven't missed having one at all (I am not a phone person - I hate talking on the phone). The last time I had one it came bundled with cable services and although I had the number listed on the Do Not Call registry, I was still getting a lot of unsolicited calls for random things (I even got two or three invitations to funerals left on voicemail apparently for the last person who had the number). The last time I had a landline about 50% of the calls were not for me which made it easy to get rid of it - it wasted my time and money...

What I like best about my cell is that I have just kept one number despite having moved several times. I got the number in another state, so calling me in my current state is a long distance call, but since nobody calls me from a land line anymore it isn't a problem.

I recently got a smartphone (android) and I love it because now I can check Facebook on the go (which is probably the single best ways to contact me). I can understand why people hate the perceived 24 hour availability of cell phones - my solution to that is that I have trained everybody not to expect me to answer my cell phone right away (I check it once every other day or so unless I am expecting a call).

I haven't had a land line in like 7 or 8 years. Got tired of giving so much money to the phone companies. I also ditched cable about 6 months ago. It's hardly worth giving all that money to the cable company either when there's the netflix roku and hulu. Don't miss cable TV or land lines one bit!

www.downtimeweblog.com

I live at home, so I use my cell phone as my main phone number. But when I move out I plan on getting a land lineand getting a really cheap cell phone plan so I can make calls in emergencies.

I haven't had a landline since I graduated from college ... and I don't any plans to get one in the future.

I love my land line. I am 28 and have never owned a cell phone. I can call anywhere and talk for as long as I want for $20/month.

I just bought a vintage rotary phone to plug into our landline, which had a somewhat vintage pushdial phone for a long time.

I've hated my cellphone since the day my parents insisted I get one, and I'm in the process of getting rid of it forever.

I point my Google Voice number at the landline, so I still have voicemail and can receive texts when I'm at the computer (which is pretty much constantly).

The only thing I'll really need now is a way to tell the time when I'm out of the house.

Haven't had a land line in about 4 years. I would still pay more for it in a bundled package than with just my internet and cable. My tivo connects through my internet.

I'm getting one for my new place - the long-distance rates are way cheaper from a land-line, even with paying for a cell phone on top of it.

Landline best match for condo's entry system -- guests must call to be buzzed in. I believe Consumer Reports suggests that land line is useful in emergencies. (as ability to send text messages -- so one needs both)

I don't have a lan line. I have dsl, but don't need an active phone line. I do have a vintage phone. I do miss the ring. I keep thinking about getting it hooked up again. But, I really wouldn't use it enough.

No, have not had one in 7 years since I moved into my current place. Some people have been concerned about this (and by "people" I mean my Mother) for safety reasons but we all went with only landlines for years and never worried about having just one phone.
I like it.

Landlines still work in power outages - that's enough reason for me to have one. I just wish the previous owners of my current number had bothered to tell ANYone that they were getting rid of their landline. Two years later and I still get daily calls for them.

Cell phone only, since I moved out a few months ago and it's no biggy.

I just ditched the land line last month when I moved... I ported my 212 home number to my cell.
Funny, when I moved into my co-op the phone jack was hanging at the end of a six foot long cable sticking out of the wall... I just cut off at the wall. Something tells me that there will never be a land line in this apartment again.

I hate cell phones and enjoy the luxury of 'getting away' from everything, so no. I love my land line. I feel very Carrie Bradshaw when I check my voicemail.

When the satellites were blocked after 9-11, I was thrilled to have a land line. My land line is here to stay.

Was anyone else reminded of "The Jerk" by this survey?

For about a decade I've relied on cellular phones as my replacement landline.

Ditched the land line 5 years ago. BUT new apartment has spotty cell reception, so thinking about starting up the land line again.

For the original post, if you have your internet from a cable provider, you do not have DSL. It's different technology.
Also for the posters who have landline numbers with the cable providers/internet package. You have a VoIP phone with a landline number. In real emergencies, it's not as reliable as a traditional landline.

What's a landline?

Not since 2003, don't miss it at all.

I thought I had ditched landlines forever until I moved and had to get one in order to have a local number. It did prove useful once when I left a credit card in the taxi and the driver was able to look me up in the phone book to tell me he had found it. And actually, really useful the 10,000 times I've lost my cell phone somewhere in my apartment.

Has anyone done much research into the links between cell phone usage & brain tumors?

What gnomatic said. Cable telephone service *is* VoIP, so you people who think you have a landline via your cable company might want to think again. It's not only *not* a landline, but emergency services (like 911) may not always be available to you.

That said, I've had VoIP via my cable company for a few years now, and the service itself has been much more reliable than through the phone company. Call quality is clearer, too. The only down side I've had to deal with is that when the electricity is out, the phones are dead.

Yes, not just a landline but a hardwired landline that works during blackouts or other power outages and emergencies. After 9-11 and the blackout, I was convinced that a hardwired landline is very good thing to have.

I have a cable "landline" now. I reluctantly accepted a pre-paid cell from my "domestic partner" as a gift for emergencies, but I detest cell phones and leave it turned off. I don't "chat" on the phone -- I have no use for them except business, and then rarely. Cell service at our house is spotty. So I have both.

Just ditched my landline earlier this year - it was never used and most people we (me and him) knew who had cell phones were with the company we are, so free minutes there anyways.

landlines are for people with something resembling a root.

I have a landline and have never had a cellphone. I'm perfectly happy the way I am.

Haven't had a landline in about 11 years. I only have home DSL for the TiVo. I get enough online through my phone and office, I don't need the further distraction at home.

A landline is the only thing I have (if magicjack counts as a landline). $20 a year for unlimited phone is cheap and wonderful -- saves me, what, $1500 a year?

Nope, Magic Jack is VoIP, not a landline.

Cell phone only in our house because there's no point in paying for phone service twice. The cell phone goes where I go, and I can use it for a lot more than just making calls.

cell phone only for me! I have never had a landline and always been a cell phone only house :)

I've lived without a land line and have re-instated it for emergency purposes. A land line is not easily lost in a panic time like a cell phone, can work when power is out (you can't plan to charge your cell for a surprise power outage) and is so much better for emergency services. When you call an emergency number from a cell phone it goes to a routing center where they try to figure out exactly which emergency center you belong to. Sometimes you end up getting filed to a further away hospital or police department, and you lose time in the second routing process that is all important in an emergency.

I haven't had a land line since 2000. We'll probably get one for emergency purposes once we have kids, but otherwise having one doesn't even occur to me.

I do have a landline, for AOL 56k phone modem connection. It's not that I want to be retro chic, it's because I can't get cell reception inside my apartment unit therefore I must have a landline.

Also, for safety reason I use a non battery operated phone so that in case all electricity and cell signals go down, I can still call 911. using

Always: I was thankful to have a landline during 9/11 and during the blackouts in NYC a couple years later. Cell phone lines were jammed during 9/11 and a lot of people's cell phone batteries died after a couple hours during the blackout (blackout also taught me to keep ample cash as ATMs went down and credit card machines did not work).

Haven't had a landline since I moved out of my parents' house 5 years ago. I was happy we had one during 9/11 and the NY blackout (only phones that were hardwired to the wall worked, of course). But it's really not worth the money to my husband and I. Every once in awhile someone wants our landline # (or wants to fax us something-- even more outdated!) but overall I wouldn't even consider getting a landline. Then again, we don't have cable TV either.

I have a landline for my doorbell/intercom/entry system. I could easily have it linked to my mobile, which I would do if I were single, but since there's two of us, it doesn't make much sense.

No land line since 2000.

I do - also cheap due to bundles w/ ATT but specially due to hurricanes here in FL, a fact many miss.

I can't imagine giving up my landline. I've lived through too many disasters and outages. After Katrina, landlines were restored more quickly than the cell towers. But I don't use it much, mainly for TiVo.

I still have a land line. Outside of the fact that I get a discount for having it, I prefer not having to worry about misplacing my cell or leaving it at work because I have no other means of communicating.

We have a landline because we are too far from any phone exchange for ADSL2, and our local cable company are pure evil.

They wont sell you cable without bundling it with a phone line, being the only way we can get the internet without sinking to a lowly 3G modem which wouldn't meet our bandwidth needs we're stuck with a phone line that only receives the occasional call from grandparents, and a lot more from telemarketers and wrong numbers.

Well I love the retro phone ring and the phone itself, so when I started using Skype, GoogleTalk etc. I changed the ringtones of those programs to this:

http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=15826

and you can get one of these to make it better:

http://www.yubz.com/product_detail.php?id=2

usb and bluetooth versions are available too :)