Is it still beneficial to have a landline telephone? Though smartphones offer more advanced technology in your palm than the computers that powered the first lunar landing, landlines retain some advantages.
Advantages of the old, reliable
- Landlines are instrumental for home security services and medical alert sensors. Some personal alarms, known as telecare equipment, still rely on a landline connection.
- A landline may also be a good option if you live in an area with poor mobile reception, offering a more consistent connection. Landlines connected via a fiber-optic phone service include benefits such as higher call quality and increased 911 service reliability.
- Mobile network service outages can leave tens of thousands, maybe millions, of customers without phone, text, or internet service, sometimes for hours.
- Sound quality for phone calls is superior on landlines. Mobile phone manufacturers consider audio quality a low priority next to internet data management, screen clarity, and camera pixel prowess.
- Dropped calls and spotty coverage are only landline issues if the person on the other end uses a cell phone.
- In an emergency, landlines almost always work.
- Fiber optic cable has mostly replaced old copper telephone wires, so a telephone line can now supply high-speed internet and fax capability.
Disadvantages of landlines
Landlines do have their vulnerabilities:
- Though they don’t fail in mobile network outages, a power outage does cut power to the base station, disrupting phone usage.
- Fewer home builders are installing telephone wiring and jacks, favoring equipment for ethernet cables instead. You may have to request telephone wiring and jacks if you plan to use them.
- Carrier service plans are not as cheap as you might think, with some ringing in at $50 monthly.
- Though spam calls are increasingly common on mobile phones, they are an epidemic on landlines. Also, many research survey companies still rely on landline calls. However, fiber optic networks often offer robocall-blocking features.
Related – Faxes Without a Home Phone Line