If you still have a landline, why?

[Genki Hikari]

43. I don't have a landline anymore

But I understand why other people do.

If the power goes out, landlines will still work in most cases, provided you have an old school phone hooked up (ye olde Ma Bell Trimline or the like). I've thought about rebooting a landline for this reason alone. Anytime my mother hears about bad weather where I am, she calls me. If I didn't answer, she would F-R-E-A-K. If I had a landline, I'd save myself a great deal of grief when she could get through to me.

Rural people tend to have bad or zero cell phone coverage, so landlines are necessary for them.

My elderly mother lives in a well-populated area, but her house is somehow in a cell phone dead zone. If she didn't have a landline, she would be in serious trouble if she had an emergency at home. At her age (80s), it's a major concern.

Some people have older alarm systems that require a landline to function properly.

Some disabled people need it for their TTY system.

It's cheaper than cell phone service, especially for the elderly and disabled.

Quite honestly, the service tends to be more reliable than cell phone, and the sound quality tends to be better. Not always. But usually.

No need to worry about upgrading your phone. A lot of people with cell phones are now SOL with the eradication of older access protocols. The phone company doesn't do rotary lines anymore, but guess what? Most of the providers installed rotary switches at residence level, so that people with rotary phones can still make and receive calls. It's 100+ year technology, and it still works. Try doing that with a 25 year old cell phone.