Getting rid of Landline Phone???? About This Page:

[mommapants]

So I'm thinking about getting rid of my land line phone. I'm just nervous about it. I have a 6 year old son and really like having the 911 service on the landline. However it is costing me over 40.00 per month and I'd like to use that money to upgrade my internet speed. In all honesty I rarely use the landline phone so I know I won’t miss it. It is really the 911 issue that is causing my dilemma. Evan, my son, is getting old enough that he can learn how to use the cell phone and be able to give his address in an emergency. I don't know maybe I'm just being a worrier, like I haven't needed the 911 service but as soon as I cancel the land line then tragedy will strike.

What are your thoughts? Do you still have a landline? Do you just use cell? I'm looking for your advise, perhaps you can give me a new perceptive on things. Thanks.

[hyprmut]

I do not have a land line and have not since 1999. I am very happy with only a cell phone.

911 is a little tricky since they don't get the address through the phone number and the district you call may not be the most local one. Also, there is no "reverse 911" on a cell. However, if your son can reliably give his address (with city and state) then I'd say go for it.

Also, I have a GPS program on my smart phone. In case of emergency I can give actual coordinates to dispatch. They may prefer something else but it WILL work.

[Colexis Mom]

We don't have good enough cell phone service (IMO) for me to drop our landline as we're in a rural area. We only have about 2 bars (I can get 3 upstairs) and that doesn't give me the level of confidence to drop it.

[Huntermom]

Same issue as Marni with only one bar in the house. I use my landline for calls that I don't want dropped half way through. It's also nice not to have to be outside in the snow trying to talk.

[feonag]

Hubby and I have cell phones but we also have a land line. 1 reason is I don't like everyone having my cell # so I always give my home # so I don't get a bunch of telemarketing calls on my cell. Another reason is we have 2 girls that like to talk on the phone but are not old enough for cell phones(in our opinion), so they use the home line. Plus we have had power outages where that land line came in handy when the power was drained from the cell phones.

[apqsmom]

We got rid of our landline a few years back. My only tip is...Make sure your child knows how to unlock your cell phone and dial it for emergencies. It is nice not having a bunch of telemarketing!

[Luvsun]

When we moved to Florida, we did not get a landline. We both have cell phones and felt that would be sufficient. There are times we would like to be able to fax things from our home, but those times wouldn't pay for the extra $$ every month for a landline.
I will say that if I still had children at home I would definitely have a landline. I would just feel better having another source of communication in case of an emergency. But that is just me!

[KMB733]

I still have a landline as I don't have good cell coverage where I live. The cell service is ok, but I know that in an emergency that would be the time I had no signal!

[jimmymac]

I keep the landline in case of emergency

[JuliB57]

I recently got rid of my "land" line because no one called me on it but my MIL! So, she now calls me on my cell phone. It still feels a bit weird not to go in & check the answering machine every day though.

[NanaTink]

Still have landline. Our alarm system is connected to it, and I also have issues with cell service. I pace when I'm on the phone and I have dead spots. I hate to be on hold with Disney and get the call dropped! Since it's bundled, with everything else, it's a flat rate regardless who I talk to and how long.

[Cam22]

We still have a land line for emergencies because when we had the ice storm in 2009 only land lines still worked; cell services were out longer for some reason. Recently, we switched to ooma for our land line and saved quite a bit per month.

[Starbright]

I like the land line. We had problems when our cell phones all went down this fall. I have 2 kids too, and I find that cell phones unless they are super easy, are harder to use.
I have a friend who has cell phones and no land lines but once her ds is able to stay at home, they will get a land line.
We are cutting back on our tv to save the extra money.

[Fortissimo]

Like others have said, we still have a landline because cell service in my area is not great.

OP, I know your son is old enough to be able to give your address if needed. However, many times when something is happening, people freeze and cannot give simple information, like address, to the dispatcher. Or if your son has a sitter and something happens, the sitter probably doesn't know your address and it would waste time trying to figure it out.

The chances that something happening and needing to use 911 are not great. But I like the fact my address would pop up on a screen from my landline if I wasn't able to give the information.

[Carousel96]

We still have a landline -- we use our cells for emergencies and the landline when we're home.
If you go cell only, what will your son use? My daughter was babysitting once and the parents took the cell phones with them, leaving a house with no phone service.