When is the last time you used a pay phone? For that matter when is the last time you saw a pay phone (or if you saw one, was it actually working)? How many phone numbers do you actually have memorized anymore? How many people still have landlines as their primary phone?

Recent statistics show that about 75 percent of Americans and Europeans are wireless subscribers and just a scant five years ago about 16 percent of homes in the U.S. had no landline at all. Do the math on that and a decade from now that number could go up to 50%.

Let’s  break it down

    •    Many business are doing away with their in exchange for wiFi, VoIP (voice over internet protocol) and company mobile phones. (Ford Motor company not too long ago dropped big bucks to buy about 8,000 phones for their staff in Detroit).
    •    Wireless communication is more economical when it comes to things like local and long-distance charges
    •    The portability and flexibility of the mobile phone doesn’t keep you tethered to that land line if you’re “waiting for a call” anymore. In the business world it frees you from being locked to that phone on your desk
    •    Even traditional companies that once required land lines (like the folks who do home security have bypassed the need for a wired line.
    •    Replacement of downed wires and such will soon become cost-prohibitive
    •    The current “young” generation and up and coming generation rely primarily on mobile technology for communication.
    •    Most of the things you need a landline for you can have with a cell phone plus 10 times more there is no longer a need to pay for both a landline and a cell phone.


Let’s be real here. You know those aisles in Office Depot or Target that still have landline/cordless phones for sale. How many people a buying those? Don’t be surprised if in a few years those aisles will no longer exist. Current projections say that in five years landlines won’t even be an option in the workplace much less the home. The pace of technology is moving at such high speeds that it transforms everything we do in our lives both personally and professionally. If you were to have suggested the notion of an office without wired landlines 15 years ago, people would think you were a nutter. Now with the ever growing rise of the virtual workspace, a landline just doesn’t provide the same flexibility.

We have reached a tipping point in our technological evolution where things like landlines no longer serve a purpose. The ability to be just about anywhere and stay connected is hard to beat matched up against the option  traditional home or office phone. Its time has come.

This post was written by Shawn Deena, a member of the Bull City Mobile team.  They are mobile problem solvers working for you.