3 in 10 get all or most calls on cell phones

[wilebill]

3 in 10 get all or most calls on cell phones (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_us/cell_phones_only;_ylt=Aq_EbNZPuIwPEIeho_Pnomis0NUE )

WASHINGTON - For nearly three in 10 households, don't even bother trying to call them on a landline phone. They either only have a cell phone or seldom if ever take calls on their traditional phone.

The federal figures, released Wednesday, showed that reliance on cells is continuing to rise at the expense of wired telephones. In the second half of last year, 16 percent of households only had cell phones, while 13 percent also had landlines but got all or nearly all their calls on their cells.

The number of wireless-only households grew by 2 percent since the first half of last year. Underscoring the rapid growth, in early 2004 just 5 percent had only cell phones.

Households with cell phones who rarely if ever use their landlines grew by 1 percent since the first half of last year.

Such families often either have their landline hooked exclusively to a computer or rely so heavily on their cells that they ignore landline calls because they are probably from telephone solicitors, said Stephen Blumberg, senior scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an author of the report.

The trends have an important impact on polling organizations, which rely chiefly on calls to random landline phone numbers. Calling cell phone users can be more costly for pollsters, in part because federal law forbids unsolicited calls to cell phones made by computerized dialing systems used heavily by pollsters.I still prefer my home and office phone to get and make calls, but more and more often people want to call my cell phone to get ahold of me. I really just don't like the idea that anybody at any time can call me, and not really know what I might be doing at the time (this excludes friends, of course), so I don't give my cell phone number out to just anybody. I've got caller ID and an answering machine at the house, so I can pick and choose which calls I want to take.

I can see only having a cell phone to save money, but that's the only reason I'd ever want to do it myself.

[luvnlife]

We fall into that category. My whole family has cell phones, we were going to cut our land line off but haven't so far. Nobody hardly ever answers our land line, we just usually let the machine pick it up. And for the most part it's usually nobody we want to talk to.

[betsy]

I just started a thread about how I am changing to Comcast internet and having my land line cut off tomorrow. Everyone calls my cell phone anyway so why pay for two? Of course if I was still working I would probably have two, but it is just me and I stay on the go most of the time.

[virgo]

When I moved this last time, it was actually cheaper for me to have a landline. I wasn't planning on having one at all, but with the way the cable company bundles services, it would have cost me $16 a month if I only got the cable and the internet package vs. the cable, phone and internet package. I hardly ever use the landline. It kinda pisses me off, but I wasn't about to pay $16 more a month for nothing.

[fuzzis]

I haven't had a landline in almost four years.

One of my friends refuses to get a cellphone because she doesn't want everyone to be able to "get" her whenever they want, which is an argument that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I still get to decide if I'm going to pick up the phone or not, and lots of the time...I decide to not. :smt102

I'm not much for talking on the phone. My monthly plan has the fewest minutes that I could get, and I have something like 5,000 roll-over minutes. Text messages, on the other hand...:smt105

[LipsofanAngel]

I only use my cell phone, unless I'm at work.... and even then I only use the office phone if I'm calling a client. I can't remember the last time I called someone from the house phone.

[fusil de asalto]

I haven't had a land line in 6 years. Cell phone works great for me.

[Maggie-Doodle]

We cut the landlines off after Katrina. Katrina hit the end of Aug. it was around Nov. before the phone company got out to put our lines back up...I told them to just take the line down from our house...We had cell phones and had done fine without the landlines, that was another bill I didn't have to pay. So far it has worked out great.

[Remington]

I pretty much only use my cell phone. I do have a land line and keep saying that I'm going to turn it off, but haven't. Only a few people call me on it and whenever I give out my phone number, I give my cell number. I'm paying the minimum for the land line, but still I'm paying too much for no more than I use it. But I hate talking on the phone. After 5 minutes, I've been on the phone too long.

[Fire Extinguisher]

Dont need a phone. I guess work may have to call me in or I may get stuck on the road so I got one.

[proudtobefrompetal]

We've haven't had a land line in almost a year and it's been fine for us. Our bill was always around $80 (we had internet service, too). Now I pay $37.95 a month to Bellsouth for high speed internet and no land line.

[jmb]

We have four cell phones on our plan, plus the house phone. Hubby uses most of the minutes, the boys and I share the rest. While I enjoy the convenience of the cell phone, I prefer to talk on the house phone.

[onlyme]

One of my friends refuses to get a cellphone because she doesn't want everyone to be able to "get" her whenever they want, which is an argument that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I still get to decide if I'm going to pick up the phone or not, and lots of the time...I decide to not. :smt102


But people KNOW that you have your cellphone on you ;). With a landline, you can at least pretend that you didn't answer because you weren't home. My cellphone is strictly for emergencies. The only people that have my number are my husband, our kids and the school, everybody else can call me at home. I never liked to chat on the phone. If someone calls me "just to chat", I get really antsy after a few minutes. I love to talk to people in person but don't tie me up on the phone.

[fuzzis]

But people KNOW that you have your cellphone on you ;). With a landline, you can at least pretend that you didn't answer because you weren't home. My cellphone is strictly for emergencies. The only people that have my number are my husband, our kids and the school, everybody else can call me at home. I never liked to chat on the phone. If someone calls me "just to chat", I get really antsy after a few minutes. I love to talk to people in person but don't tie me up on the phone.

They might think you had your phone with you...or you might have left it in the car. Or in your purse. Or forgot it at the house. Or left it on silent after the movie. Or whatever. :smt023

[gine]

I hate phones all together unless I'm doing the calling lol. Everybody knows my hours and at 12:01 it starts ringing through my lunch hour, and again at 5:01. I've simply quit answering it. Phones are a nusiance, unless of course needed hah!

[onlyme]

They might think you had your phone with you...or you might have left it in the car. Or in your purse. Or forgot it at the house. Or left it on silent after the movie. Or whatever. :smt023

My son is being stalked by a girl. If he doesn't answer, she'll keep calling and calling and texting and calling and texting..... Some people just can't be silenced :smt009 . Nah, I can do without the cellular umbilical cord ;)

[aaron]

Well, my cell phone will let you set ring tones for different people. If someone was bothering me, I would set their ring tone to silent. And I think cell phones will get better and better at getting others to respect your privacy. I think it'd be great if I could set away messages like on IM.

[gine]

As cell phones are an alternative to the usual landline phone, Vonage and similiar companies offering phone services through the high speed/cable connections are as well. I had a horrible experience with Vonage in that I could NEVER get them to disconnect our service. We tried it, didn't like it, and spent 9 months paying for a service which we did not use - we had taken the phones out of the house all together. It took changing our bankaccount so they no longer had direct access to bill their monthly charge to get them to disconnect the service. We sent emails and called so many times that I can't even remember. Most of the time the calls were answered by a foreigner who barely could speak the language. Never could get a physical address to send a certified letter to. It was a nightmare! Just a warning. I've heard others who like Vonage so take it for what it is worth.

[TheKing]

people still have land lines?

[Remington]

Well, my cell phone will let you set ring tones for different people. If someone was bothering me, I would set their ring tone to silent. And I think cell phones will get better and better at getting others to respect your privacy. I think it'd be great if I could set away messages like on IM.Any certain brand cell phones do that? I have a Nokia and it won't let me do that.....or it may but I haven't figured out how. I need to get a new cell phone and would like to get one that did that.

[CircusRide]

8 of 10 are blonde females who are also putting on their make up while driving.

[fuzzis]

Any certain brand cell phones do that? I have a Nokia and it won't let me do that.....or it may but I haven't figured out how. I need to get a new cell phone and would like to get one that did that.

Most newer phones will let you do it. I had a motorola that allowed me to set ring tones, and my sony ericsson allows me to do it for ring tones, but the message tone (for text messages) is the same for everyone.

[luvnlife]

My cell phone lets me choose different ringtones for everybody in my phonebook. I love it because it lets me know who is calling me and I can decide whether I want to answer it or not.

[MamaTyson74]

I have my landline only because of DSL. Comcast isnt available where I live or I would have switched. Only people that call my landline are wrong numbers or people that barely speak english wanting to sell me something. I have gotten to where I dont even answer it unless I recognize the number. My family will sometimes call my landline first but if we dont answer they call one of our cells.
I have never set up the different ringtones mainly because I havent downloaded any new ringtones. Im trying to wait till my upgrade time on my phone, which is June :-) Im wanting an i phone, just gotta talk hubby into letting me spend that much!! Heck I work, I should be able to get it ::: stomping feet :::

[fuzzis]

Im wanting an i phone, just gotta talk hubby into letting me spend that much!! Heck I work, I should be able to get it ::: stomping feet :::

I think the new 3G iphone is supposed to be debuted in June. Apple is saying that the current models are sold out online in the US and the UK...which means you may have to wait a little longer for an iphone.

[MamaTyson74]

I think the new 3G iphone is supposed to be debuted in June. Apple is saying that the current models are sold out online in the US and the UK...which means you may have to wait a little longer for an iphone.
Yeah a friend of mine was telling me about the new one. So I might wait for one of those :clap: She also told me her husband is wanting one so he might sell me his i phone. He got it the first day it was out. Which that put him buying it for 600 when they are now 400. Guess he should have waited. :smt023

[betsy]

We've haven't had a land line in almost a year and it's been fine for us. Our bill was always around $80 (we had internet service, too). Now I pay $37.95 a month to Bellsouth for high speed internet and no land line.

I am so glad you wrote that post. I did not know you could get Bellsouth without a land line and that was why I was switching to Comcast. I called Bellsouth and they set me up with a plan (after I told them that I was switching) that really surprised me. Of course I get an "old people" discount that you probably don't get. :laugh: Now I don't have to go to all the trouble of changing things to Comcast which I would probably mess up so badly that I could never get on the internet again.:ohnoes:
Thanks again

[Fire Extinguisher]

I think what we will do is go cable on the I-net, do away with the land line....... change my cell to one of those that you just get 10 minutes or so a month instead of this unlimited I have.... no one talks to me so all I need is a few minutes....... wife and daughter can keep what they have.

[MamaTyson74]

We've haven't had a land line in almost a year and it's been fine for us. Our bill was always around $80 (we had internet service, too). Now I pay $37.95 a month to Bellsouth for high speed internet and no land line.
Heyyyyy I didnt know that bellsouth offered DSL without a landline :confused: