Thinking and Meaning

The thinking man's guide to creating connections.

Should I Keep My Landline?

Landline Phone

The whole world loves cell phones. However, many people use a good old-fashioned landline. Businesses and homes use landlines for many reasons. Landlines have a real connection to a cable or a fiber optic system that links to a dispatch system, making them more stable. Cell phones use radio waves, which can make them less reliable in areas where the signals are blocked or are non-existent. People buy cell phones because they are convenient, mobile, and have Internet and text messages. Both phones have a place in our culture.

Making a Connection

Businesses need a stable source to connect with clients and vendors. They install or keep their landlines to have a link to the outside world. Landlines also support multiple handsets and phone lines.


Cell phone users may have trouble in rural areas. Cell phone towers don’t exist in some areas due to geography. Radio wave interference drops phone calls. Landlines can be used wherever there is a telephone pole. Landlines also offer accessibility features such as oversized keys, the ability to attach touch screens, extra loud ringer settings, voice activation for the vision impaired, flashing lights for the hearing impaired, transcription units, Braille-based devices, improved clarity, etc.


Many people, especially seniors, say that their old fashioned phones are more comfortable than the much smaller cell phones. The handsets are much larger, which makes it easier to use while taking notes, such as typing, cooking or washing the dishes.


Landlines are cheap. You can buy a phone at a yard sale or thrift store and it will work. The cost of local service is about $30.


Many homes keep landlines for security. Older people may have had their landlines for many years and the thought of changing phone numbers means notifying a lifetime’s worth of friends, family, and businesses.

Everyone worries about security. In the age of hackers, using a landline is a lot safer than using a cell phone. Landlines send data through a fixed system, where cell phone data is sent through radio waves. Hackers can get data from cell phones. In order to tap into a landline, a device must be attached to the phone and/or the line.

Cell phones introduced an important security feature with the ability to trace a phone number. Landlines now offer the same feature.

Emergency Services

Landlines make a secure, traceable connection to emergency services that cell phones and VoIP phones don’t, depending on the service and location. Callers using 911 connect to the dispatcher. The dispatcher has immediate access to your location, even if you get cut off. Cell phone users must give their location and phone number before reporting the emergency. Poor call quality can cause important information to get lost, wasting precious time in an emergency situation.