Landlines vs. Wireless Communication Facts
These days pretty much every one has a cell phone. Some people even have two cell phones, one for personal use and one for work, along with a land line phone in their home. As a result, people begin to question the advisability of paying for both a cell phone and a land line, wondering if it the extra expense is necessary. Before you make that decision, however, you should make sure you know the facts and have determined what will best fit your lifestyle and household needs.
Landlines tend to be more reliable than cell phones, and although cell phones have come a long way, they may still not get good reception inside your home. So, if you need to be able to make a call when you need to make a call, cell phones may not be your best bet, as they may not provide the type of security you want, especially if you have small children or elderly family members.
Battery life is another issue that has improved over time with cell phones; however, you can still find yourself with a dead phone and no service in an emergency, if you aren't careful. Although, since most landlines are also cordless, you can have that same situation with your land line phone should you forget to put it back on the charger unit when you're done using it.
For a larger family, a land line will be the cheaper alternative, as even with a cell phone "family plan" you would still need to pay additional fees for each phone added to the plan, as opposed to a landline, in which you can have any many handsets per single line as you'd like. Cell phones plans have a limited number of minutes you can use in a month, which can be a problem for large families who need to make a lot of calls or someone who works from home and may need to make a lot of calls during the day. However, if your phone use is more moderate, a cell phone plan may be less expensive per month than a landline. For instance, people who travel often or are rarely home, may find that they truly don't need the extra expense of a landline, which may be very infrequently used.
Another issue is that cell phones plans charge for all calls, both incoming and outgoing, and will charge an additional fee per minute for any minutes used over your plan, while landlines generally charge one flat rate for as many minutes you can use in the month.
Cell phone plans often include "free" long distance, which can be a real money saver, but unlimited long distance does not mean you aren't charged for the minutes used during peak times and/or once your plan minutes are used up. Now many landline phone plans also have included unlimited long distance for a flat fee, and don't charge for every minute you are on the phone.
Cell phones also require a contract, which can require you to sign up for one or even two years to get a specific rate. If you need to cancel that contract, it can result in expensive penalties. Landline phones do not require contracts.
Cell phone numbers can travel with you when you move from one area to another, even across country, however, you are then obligated to dial an area code for each call, since the cell phone would not be local to the area. Landline phones can require you to get a new number if you move to a different area, even if it's just across town.
Finally, if you need people to be able to locate you, a landline, the number of which can be found in a telephone directory, is most likely necessary for you, as there is no central database of cell phone numbers at this time.