A new study from the Convergence Consulting Group reports 2 million Canadians will have only cellphones at home, ditching landline services by the end of 2011. Why is this happening? It is the result of ‘lower’ wireless prices from the ‘Big 3’ wireless companies (Rogers, Telus, Bell).
It is predicted 1 in 7 Canadians will only have cellphones by year’s end, with an estimates to grow to 26% by 2014. Back in 2009, only 8.9% of Canadians had scrapped their landlines.
Canadians have decided to drop their landlines not because of cheaper wireless prices? I don’t think so (hey, I have yet to see my bill decrease!). It’s more of a cost-cutting measure rather than paying for something that is barely utilized, given the competitive rates available from VoIP services such as Skype. When one can make unlimited calls to Canada/USA for only $2.99 per month, it’s a no brainer to cut the cord.
Do you still pay for a landline? Vote and share your comments below!
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I have never had a landline since I’ve had a cell phone
What about Master Splinter? How do you reach him in the sewers?
Well you obviously don’t get the fact that I am a NINJA TURTLE hence NINJA Gary
Just ditched in in May after 35 years. It was a cost-cutting measure but I found the number of phone calls I get is decreasing (emailing/texting is going up). I have unlimited voice on my cell, I use skype-to-skype for free for long distance or pay 2.5c/min from my laptop and Yak for paid long-distance calls from my cell (3.5c/min). I switched to Teksavvy cable for my internet (lower cost than Bell, higher GB download limit ,WAY better customer service) and so I was able to not have to pay for the dry loop cost for a DSL phone line ($8/mos) either.
Kept my cable (can’t get HGTV, HDNET and many other specialty stations through an antenna) but signed up to Neflix for $8/mos. I am still ahead $260 year ($500 pre-tax income)!!!
btw, the only drag with the cell only at home is I have to carry it around the house, (not a problem in a small house or condo/apt) but I have to floors with 3,000 sq ft. This was not a problem when I had ordinary phones around the house as they all rang. I know there are cradles that you can use for cell phones that connect them to regular phones around the house (which are not connected to landlines) but I hear they don’t work very well. I have already suggested to Steve Jobs to come out with a companion iPhone that would be cheaper and would ring on the same number as your primary iPhone just like all landline phones do in a house. That way you could keep other ones around the house (plus use them as an in-house walkie talkie). This would also further increase Apple’s sales and tentacles into your life, lol.
Can’t wait to pay for that with my iWallet.
I wish the “iWallet” was a real concept because I’d replace my bank
I pay $55 a month for my cell and $40 for my wife’s cell, I’m not paying another $20-30 for a land line that neither of us will use. The only person we regularly call long distance is my mother-in-law and since we both have unlimited incoming she just calls us back when we want to talk. Or we Facetime.
Me and my girlfriend both have cell phones with voicemail and caller ID. Why would I bother getting a phone line that I would neither want to use, nor pay for?
The only argument I’ve heard in favour of a landline is when you have kids. But, with the way things are going these days, by the time my kids are making phone calls, I’ll probably just get them a cheap cellphone anyways.
Besides, most kids are just texting/IMing these days. Give them an iPod touch and let them iMessage and Skype.
I have CityFido for $35 unlimited talk and text. With 6 Gb data I pay $63+HST in total (Thanks to Fido Customer Retention Department!). Considering the unlimited talk and text and a sizable data plan, I have no need for landlines. I think as companies like Wind and Mobilicity expand their networks (to cover Canada) and offer unlimited talk, text and data for $40-$50 a month (and the fact you can use some of their phones as a wireless router for Internet at home), we will see a lot of people get rid of their land lines and home Internet accounts in the next couple of years.
Does that include Voicemail? I pay 50.75 + HST for my iPhone plan which is the old CityFido with unlimited voice, 6GB Data, 2,500 SMS (way more than I need), 1,000 min Call Forwarding, Voicemail, Caller Name & Number ID, Call Conferencing, Call Waiting and Personal Hotspot. I also love the fact that in the rare event my home internet is down I can use the Personal Hotspot feature to get internet access on my laptop (but not Netflix on my TV arghhhhh).
I only have a landline now for passive messaging. Some places still request a home phone # and a mobile #. For some forms that request a # but I couldn’t care less, providing that # is also useful as a sort of ‘spam’ filter. I still get marketing calls and bots calling that line. Rather have it there and check messages a couple of times a week than deal with repeated cell spamming. *shrug* But I should really look to removing any added features I have on that line. Unused, unneeded.
i dont pay for home phone or tv. i upped my internet usage so i download everything in HD and hookup my macbook pro to my flatscreen. it’s all a scam and a waste or money, getting charged out of ur ass for stuff u dont even use. i have a cell phone if someone wants to reach me, if not then e-mail or fb me
Whatever that “$2.99 per month” link was, my corporate firewall sure did not like it!
ditched the landline 10 years ago and have never looked back. It was a little challenging early on when I went out and needed a babysitter – but they generally have their own phones too so we worked it out. At the time it was a cost saver by $50/month, but now that my son has his own phone I’m back to paying as much or probably more than I did with a landline.