Land line - is it necessary?

bunchiemarie

So DH and I have never had a "home" phone line. Just our two cell phones. Never thought much about it but one of my coworkers was telling me a story about how her niece's phone was stolen (right out of her hand outside a mall) and my coworker was very upset that her niece has a baby at home and is without a phone until she gets a new one. She seemed to think it was downright irresponsible to not have a landline with a child in the house. It honestly hadn't occurred to me that we should get one. We're always good about keeping our phones charged and went out of our way to get a Microcell so we get good cell reception in the house. I can't imagine we'd EVER use a house phone and it would just be an added expense -- but what do other people/STMs think? Is a land line really necessary for safety's sake (I guess the location info would be better for calling 911) or is there some other reason we should consider it?

id012

We dont have a land line and I will say the one time my phone did break and I was waiting to get to verizon It was pretty nerve wracking not having a phone. When I got to verizon to get a new one I had to wait a week for it. I went back and told them I had a baby at home and no o the line.. they gave me a loaner until my new phone came in.

Stargirlb

I've not had a landline since I was 15.

Samiantha101

I don't find it necessary. If my phone is broken or missing, I A.) have an old phone I can always use temporarily and B.) Have other electronics I can use to communicate via wireless connection.

bunchiemarie

I think there was some issue that her niece couldn't afford to/wasn't able to replace the phone right away (obviously not really related to the land line issue but my coworker felt that made the land line issue more urgent.) She just felt that cell phones get lost, get stolen, break, run out of charge, etc and just aren't reliable enough to not have a backup in case of a real emergency.

I guess if I had a nanny or a sitter in the house all the time I would also have to feel confident that they were good about keeping their phone charged/available if I didn't have a landline. But I think most people our age don't have them anymore... and maybe we have a different opinion than people even just a little bit older (like my coworker).

Stargirlb

Even my 80 year old grandma does not have a landline. Neither of my parents do. I am actually considering getting one for the first time because I live on a mountain with terrible reception. I often just use Skype

tripletoe

We haven't had a land line in forever. Worst case scenario, I'd go to my neighbors if there was an emergency and both of our cell phones were not working. 

MamacitaChiquita82

We have a landline but only because VoIP is the cheapest way for us to make overseas calls to my in laws in France. If we didn't have that issue, we wouldn't have a landline at all.

Maebb

We haven't had one in about 10 years. I vote for not necessary.

Some security systems require a land line, but ours doesn't. I also have a personal phone + work phone, so I already have a back-up.

MusicFanatic

I seriously know 2 people with landlines.  And both of them have them for business purposes in their home.  I haven't had a landline in around 10 or so years. Both H and I use cells. None of my friends with kids have landlines.  I'm not adding a monthly bill for a "just in case" type of scenario that I may never need or use, yanno? I won't be getting one.

southernyankeegirl

We haven't had a landline pretty much ever. Pre-college, I think, at my parents' house was the last time.

It's a good point about making sure a sitter keeps their phone charged. Didn't think of that!

We always keep our old phone and charger when we upgrade. If we lost a phone, we would just charge and reactivate the old phone when we got home. If we were traveling, we'd buy a cheap phone as a backup until we could get home.

Curbs12

We had a landline but never used it. If you are considering getting one look into magic jack. That's what we had and it was like $20 for the year.

rainbows

Havent had a land line since 2007, and that was only because the internet bill was $15 cheaper if you added the $12 land line.  Those pay per minute phones are so cheap now a days, that one month of land line would be more expensive than buying a backup cell phone.  Both the husband and I have a personal phone and a work phone, so I dont have a backup cell, but If I needed one, id get a tracfone or something.  

Edit:  My mom has a landline...She kept it in case relatives who dont have ...technology? want to call and have it be the same number they had 35 years ago.  She gets about 2 calls a month on it, never answers it and and rarely checks the voicemail, so basically a waste of money.

letsgox

Stargirlb said:

Even my 80 year old grandma does not have a landline. Neither of my parents do. I am actually considering getting one for the first time because I live on a mountain with terrible reception. I often just use Skype

Our house is a major dead zone for pretty much all cell phone carriers. We ended up getting an AirWave (we have Sprint) that connects our calls through the internet (via a cord to the router and a small reception box on the window still). Haven't had trouble since that time and people can call our phones without us missing them completely due to lack of reception.

OP -- we don't have a land line, either. H and I both have cell phones. If there was ever an emergency and I didn't have my phone nearby and I couldn't get out of the house to ask/scream/beg for someone to call 911 I suppose we would be up a creek.

mandikins27

I've always had a landline i dont know the number to it or anything lol last week it rang and scared the shit out of me. But i do have to say it comes in handy for my pre teens

vjdk07

We have one but it's mainly for when DSS gets his cell taken away and is here alone. It's $5 extra per month on our internet bill. Shrug.

CanukMam

Correct me if I'm wrong, but even if you have no paid phone service (land line) in your house, you can still hook up a phone and use it for 911 in case of emergency. That might just be in Canada though... I believe the same also goes for cell phones, so if you have an old one hanging around &charged you can still make 911 calls.

We have a VOIP phone that costs us about $4/month as our land line.

AlfiesMOM

We have one because I work from home a lot and I hate taking conference calls from a cell phone. That being said I have never done anything related to my child from it. You can still call 911 from your cell phone.

CanukMam

ExcitedMama2 said:

CanukMam said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but even if you have no paid phone service (land line) in your house, you can still hook up a phone and use it for 911 in case of emergency. That might just be in Canada though... I believe the same also goes for cell phones, so if you have an old one hanging around &charged you can still make 911 calls.

We have a VOIP phone that costs us about $4/month as our land line.

That is true for cell phones, but not for landlines.  Landlines you have to have dial tone for it to connect...and if you don't pay for service, you have no dial tone.  

OP -- I haven't had a landline in probably 10 years.  When I get babysitters, I make sure they have a phone, or I leave them my work cell phone for emergencies.  

FYI

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2009/05/update-about-911-and-disconnected-landlines/index.htm

amandad715

We got one after DS1 was born and MIL had forgotten her cell phone once while she watched him. It's the most basic thing and we hardly ever get calls on it.
FFSC-I don't even have our landline number memorized. I have to look it up every time.

thompnia

We had one for about a year after our son was born. I dropped my cell phone in the water and I was without for three days. It made me nervous. I also wasn't sure if my grandmas would ever babysit in my home, and they are not good with their cell phones. They only babysit in their own homes, so we cancelled it.

Pips09

We have one, because I prefer to have one. I can't always hear my cell ring, and I like people to be able to reach me. I also work from home a decent amount, and I don't like having to use my cell for work calls.

Plus, our security system is monitored through our land line. I know they have ones that use cellular, too, but ours isn't.

jmcmoe

We have a landline because we live out in farm country and if the hydro goes out for lengthy periods of time we need a reliable way to call neighbours/hydro one etc. Plus we tend to have a lot of foreign students and if their families call it's much cheaper and our wifi can be sketchy.

cclfc

We just moved into a new house and the land line came with the Fios package. I haven't had one in ages, but I'm looking forward to having one. I like to chat on the phone with friends and family and I just don't like the way it sounds a on a cell (even with earbuds). I don't think I'll use it a lot, but I can see myself using it here and there. Since it's free, why not.

LaBellaVida

We had one. I wanted one for my son since he didn't have a cell at the time. We'd be at work sometimes when he'd get home from school and it was there for an emergency and to call us to check in.

He now has his own cell phone (14 yrs) so we no longer have a land line

KJsbabe

We've never had one. DH and I both have cell phones, and anyone who we've had babysit DD has had their own phone. For a while I thought about adding another line to our plan and just keeping the third cell phone at the house as a "house phone", but we decided we didn't want the extra expense.

nah82

We live in the sticks and have 0 cell phone reception at our house unless we want to walk outside to talk.  We have a landline and even an old school corded phone on the wall!  Our cordless phones don't work if the power goes out, but I can use that wall phone to call the power company to get us turned back on (especially during a bad winter storm we need this, that is not the time I want to get bundled up and walk through a foot of snow outside to make a phone call).

cassied7

We just got a land line for the first time in 8 years because we bought a house on a mountain and have no reception, so for us its a must. If we had cell service here I wouldn't waist the money on it.

Beauxbaton

We will probably get a landline when our kids start wanting to call other people. That way they don't have to use our cell phones. But other than that I don't think they are necessary. Like a PP said, I've got old phones that I could use. Also anybold cell phone can still call 911 if there is an emergency. If I didn't have an old cell phone and I needed to get a hold of someone I'd go to a neighbors house and ask to use their phone.

MusicFanatic

Pips09 said:

We have one, because I prefer to have one. I can't always hear my cell ring, and I like people to be able to reach me.

I'm the opposite- i would rather people not be able to reach me

AggieMom0809

I haven't had one since I moved out of my parents house to go to college. My parents still have one, but since almost everyone now has unlimited minutes and would be long distance to call anyway, it's almost only telemarketers who call. If we ever move to a place with bad reception, we'd probably get a LL.

I'm not concerned about the phone being stolen. If it is, there is almost always someone there immediately to be able call and cancel the phone service and go in the next day to get a new phone. You can also drive or in worst case, walk to the nearest store to use a phone if you "need" to make a call.

mom2case

We've only had cell phones ever since 2005 when we got married and we have a 3 year old.  Sometimes, I've lost my phone and there are times I may want to call someone and can't remember where I set it.  In case of emergency, I can definitely see the benefit of having a land line.  Also, we want to get a security alarm and they use a land line to call the police and/or you if the alarm goes off.  I still don't think it's necessary to get a land line and I'm a little annoyed that we have to have one for a security system, but I can see benefits to having one.

rodiesmum

No landline. I think cellphones are enough. I have two lined though. One is for personal one is for ofc ao if god forbid one gets lost i can still palce a call

Stargirlb

Hah, I also prefer people to not reach me. My friends and family complain I never answer my phone or respond to texts/emails. I respond only if it's urgent usually

Eyefrog

I prefer to have a landline, granted we have a VOIP via the cable company. We only upgraded our cell phone in the spring to a smartphone and it is only used really for when we are out and if we needed to be reached. I will pay for one until they are obsolete(landline), I am not a modern gal when it comes to having a cellphone on me at all times, not a big fan of the cell phone society...call me old school or maybe just call me old. Im not sure its necessary but a preference to answer the OP

MusicFanatic

Stargirlb said:

Hah, I also prefer people to not reach me. My friends and family complain I never answer my phone or respond to texts/emails. I respond only if it's urgent usually

Oh I respond to texts, I'm a manic texter and do that almost all day.

I hate talking on the phone, though, and won't typically pick up.  Drives my mom crazy. She will call, leave voice mail, then call back right away and say "I know you're there, pick up" and she will keep calling until I pick up. I tell her to text me.

liladelphia215

I have a landline.. It comes with my cable and internet bundle. I'll probably always have a landline because I feel a little extra secure... Sometimes cell service cuts out, sometimes cell phones break, or get stolen.. sometimes on holidays, service is awful because everyone is on their phones. I like having a back-up in case of emergencies or if I leave my cell phone at work or something and someone needs to reach me, they have a back up method. Also, with DD, she was sick so much that often I had to work from home and with how cheap landlines are nowadays, I would use that to call into meetings, and make other work-related calls instead of wasting cell minutes which we are limited on.

peggels24

I have a land line for various reasons but mostly because I spend a lot of time on the phone with my sisters on a weekly basis and I hate talking on my cell for extended periods of time.  Also we give out the land line number to anyone that might annoy us (when we fill out applications, etc).  

Unfortunately my land line is through my cable company and I wish that it wasn't as it goes out when we lose power.  I'm not a fan of that.  Luckily I live on an emergency grid so when the neighborhood loses power, there is a backup power grid to our street - the lights go off and then come back up almost instantly.  

longcat07

i had a landline initially because...i don't know why.  haha.  anyway, i haven't had one in 6 years at this point.  the only thing that stinks is my parents are land line people, and the long distance is ridiculous, so we do this thing where they call me and i call them right back (if it's outside of our weekly scheduled skype time).  SO is an IT guy though, so he wants to set up a couple google voice numbers for different area codes so that my folks and his dad can call on their land lines and not have to pay out the ass for long distance.  also, i'd like a land line for official things (like school and doctor calls), because i'm guilty of missing calls because my phone is one room and i can't hear it while i'm downstairs with the laundry or whatever.  once the google voice is set up, we plan on having a handset on each floor.

banana2020

We have one and I won't get rid of it even though it's just another bill to pay.  My thinking is that if anyone babysits in my home, I don't want to worry that their cell is always charged in case of emergency (including my mom who sometimes doesn't even notice her phone is almost out of juice. And frankly, my stupid iPhone will often go from 20% charged to OFF while I'm using it so even keeping it charged doesn't always mean I'll actually have a charge). 

We rarely actually use the land line but it's just a must have for us in case of emergency.  It's basically non-negotiable for us right now.

MusicFanatic

Mamasaurus15 said:

MusicFanatic said:

Stargirlb said:

Hah, I also prefer people to not reach me. My friends and family complain I never answer my phone or respond to texts/emails. I respond only if it's urgent usually

Oh I respond to texts, I'm a manic texter and do that almost all day.

I hate talking on the phone, though, and won't typically pick up.  Drives my mom crazy. She will call, leave voice mail, then call back right away and say "I know you're there, pick up" and she will keep calling until I pick up. I tell her to text me.

@musicfanatic Why is that? I know some people who only text, and I just don't get it. Sometimes conversations take 5x as long because you're typing everything out and waiting for the other person to read etc. I understand wanting alone time/not to be contacted, but to ignore calls and only text baffles me.

Because I don't like talking on the phone- that's takes so much longer for me. Mostly because my family/friends don't like to say "bye" and keep me on forever when I have stuff to do. I'd much rather take my time and answer a text when I can.  Don't get me wrong- if someone actually has an important question or needs to talk to me, I will pick up. (typically they text first "hey I have an important question" or "I really need a friend to talk to, can you call?") and I will call them immediately. I'm not rude.  I just prefer to text on my free will and don't enjoy talking as much. I prefer face to face for talking. @mamasaurus15