Cell Phone vs. Home Phone

Life sure does change quickly these days. Just a few years ago, it seemed that literally almost every house in the country had a landline. However, with the rapid rise of the cell phone, people are now starting to question whether they need to keep home phone service and many people have already ditched their landline. It's not just young people either, my own mom has cut the cord!

While cell phones are great, there are still plenty of reasons to keep your landline. With that in mind, I put together a list of the pros and cons of keeping the landline and pulling the plug:

• Reliability – Cell phones suffer from dropped calls, busy networks and other issues that keep them from being 100% reliable. In contrast, when was the last time you dropped a call from your home phone? Home phones are just more reliable right now and that matters, especially during an emergency.
  Advantage: Home Phone

• One Number – One benefit of going cell-only is that there's only one number people need to know. This cuts down on phone tag and lets people get in touch with you faster, no matter where you are.
  Advantage: Cell Phone

• 911 Calls – While cell phones can make 911 calls just fine, when you call from a home phone, the dispatcher instantly gets your exact location. With cell phones, dispatcher may not be able to pinpoint your location.
  Advantage: Home Phone
  

• Call Quality – This one is easy. Cell phones just can't touch the quality of a home phone call yet.
  Advantage: Home Phone
  

• Contracts – Most cell phones require you to opt into a contract term, usually for a few years. With a home phone, you can find many plans that do not require a contract at all.
  Advantage: Home Phone
  

• DVR and Home Security Service – Many DVR and home security systems require a landline to function correctly. Disconnecting your home phone may also disconnect your security system and force you to watch TV live!
  Advantage: Home Phone

• Disasters – As anyone who went through Ike here in Houston a few years back knows, cell phones are unreliable during disasters. While almost everyone with a cell phone have to struggle to get a call through, people with a good old landline had a much easier time placing calls.
  Advantage: Home Phone

• Cost – Here's the big one. For some people, it doesn't make sense to keep both a cell phone and a landline cost-wise. For others, like myself, having a cheap landline at home for long calls to family helps us shave wireless minutes and save money each month. Each situation is different, so shop around to find the best price and do the math.
  Advantage: Draw

So, clearly there are a lot of reasons to keep your home phone service alongside your cell phone, it's the best of both worlds!

Remember, WhiteFence is the nation's leading resource to shop, compare and save on landline service. Just hop over to our home phone center, enter your address and you'll be on your way to finding the best deals on home phone service in your area!