Do I Need a Telephone in Addition to a Mobile Phone?

I don't live in an apartment, so I don't know about the security system, but our family has not had a land line in about two years.

At the point where everyone in the household had a mobile phone, it just no longer made sense to have a land line anymore. Anyone we actually cared to talk to called our cell phones already.

In that time, we have never really missed having a phone in the house. We have good cell coverage, and no technology in our home that is dependent on a physical phone line.

MRFAndover said:

That's pretty much what I'm thinking. People call my cell phone when they arrive, and I go open the door. Climbing the stairs is good exercise.

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You can always try it that way, and if it gets to be too much of a hassle, you can add the land line later. You're not cutting off any future options.

Using your land line to buzz people in is a new one on me--how does that work. Generally you can just push a button and it's hard wired in, no phone service required.

You need a land line to buzz people in? I have a land line, but many people I know (in various different buildings) do not and have the buzzer connected to their cell phone instead, no problem.

More and more people live without land lines and do just fine.

My husband and I still have a land line, and the reasons are:

--It's a "family" phone number people can reach or leave messages that aren't just for one of us (even so, I rarely talk to some of our old friends anymore, as they mostly call my husband on his cell phone).
--Also, the land line is useful if I switch my phone or ringer off (can't have it on when I'm teaching) and forget to turn it back on and don't notice messages accumulating. Even if my cell phone flashed when I had a message, I wouldn't see it when it's in my purse.
--The land line still has better reception and fewer dropped calls when talking to someone on the phone for longer conversations, and handset battery life is longer.
--The land line number is the one I give out when purchasing services or products that require a phone # and are likely to bug me later or sell my number.
--The land line has an answering machine, so it makes call screening easy without having to find/pickup a ringing phone to look at it. I never give my cell phone number to anyone I don't want to get a call from (though I'm starting to get telemarketing calls on my cell phone anyway)
--It's a back up when cell phone batteries run out or reception is cruddy (this is still an issue in hilly neighborhoods or people living in more remote areas)
--The land line is bundled as part of our internet and TV service anyway
--It's a phone number we've had for over 15 years now, and pretty much everyone knows it.

However, you have to pay for a long distance service with a land line, and they often charge by the call still (where cell phones tend to have a flat fee). And it can cause confusion if you give someone a land line number to contact you and they assume it's a cell number and try to text you or think they can reach you whenever and wherever (something I resist furiously, as I don't want to be reached by most people whenever and wherever). And some people can't keep straight which number is a land line and which is a cell, even when you tell them, so they'll try to call your land line when they have to reach you in an emergency and they should know you aren't home (duh).

Any of these reasons may or may not apply to other people. I've never quite gotten into the habit of frequently checking my cell phone, so I can walk around with a dead phone for quite some time and also go a long time not knowing someone called or texted.

Don't know about the buzzing people in thing, but it's hard to believe a modern system wouldn't use with cell phones or the internet.

I haven't had a land line in... lemme think back.

Dang, 17 years.

Not once in that period have I wished I had one or felt like I was missing anything. Save yourself the bill.

Roxxsmom said:

--It's a phone number we've had for over 15 years now, and pretty much everyone knows it.

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Just as a general aside, it is possible to transfer a land line number to a cell phone.

If you connect with the door security you will get buzzed when it's not your visitor.

I've had a mobile phone and just a mobile phone since 2007.

Havne't regretted it.

Roxxsmom said:

--The land line is bundled as part of our internet and TV service anyway.

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This is the only reason we still have a landline. We need to pay 'line rental' for our internet package, so the only extra cost is the landline wireless handsets (and that's nominal over their lifespan).

Also, small town Scotland means we get really poor mobile phone signal inside the house. Had high hopes for 'calls and texts over wifi' technology but so far it's a bit rubbish. If I was relying on the mobile I'd miss half my calls.

I also have an old fashioned phone, the kind that runs just off the power that comes in via a phone jack, handy in case of a power outage or issue that interferes with cell phone reception.

Silva said:

Just as a general aside, it is possible to transfer a land line number to a cell phone.

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True, but both my husband and I also have cell phone numbers we don't want to change, and if I did, it would mean that all those companies that have my land line number would now be bugging me on my cell phone.

And I'd have to change contact information on everything from the pets' microchip companies to my credit cards.

My husband is for giving up the land line, because he's not as attached to the idea of having a "family" number that is for both of us (I only ever get to chat with his parents and some of our mutual friends who are more inclined to call his number because they sometimes call on the land line when he's not around). Also, he says he just gives a fake number (our area code plus 123-4567) when he's required to give a phone number when he fills out a form or purchases something online. When I point out that this could be an issue if they ever do need to get in touch with him about an order, he shrugs and says, "Oh well."

One other benefit of a landline is this, at least where we are:

If you call emergency services from a landline, they instantly know your location. It might save a few seconds.

We still have our landline, but when it rings, I know it's either telemarketers or my mother-in-law -- who, in fact, is delightful.

MRFAndover said:

Wouldn't it just buzz when someone types in my apartment number or whatever?

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People will punch in any number because:

They're drunk
They're stupid
They're annoying

Tazlima said:

I haven't had a land line in... lemme think back.

Dang, 17 years.

Not once in that period have I wished I had one or felt like I was missing anything. Save yourself the bill.

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I don't have one because line congestion is so bad that unless you go digital (voice over IP, cable, fiber, etc.) in urban areas it's really hard to get a number/line.

I was flat out told by the phone company when I lived in L.A. and moved that there were no lines or numbers available; it could take up to six weeks for one.

Wow, I've never heard of that! How absolutely fascinating.

It might equally be a reason to have a cell phone in case your landline dies. Or just a reason to have two phones. IMHO, maybe not enough of the reason to justify the expense.

AW Admin said:

People will punch in any number because:

They're drunk
They're stupid
They're annoying

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They locked themselves out in the snow with two small dogs.

...Yeh, that was me. Three times.

MRFAndover said:

The one possible advantage I can see is that if I had the phone plugged into the wall, I might be able to connect with the door security system and buzz people in rather than having to go downstairs and let them in. I'm just not 100% sure this would work with the number being a mobile number instead of a land line number.

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Don't pay for a landline. I bet the door bell and door opening functions are still working with a landline phone plugged in. You just can't receive or make calls with it because there won't be a ringtone.

-cb