Jun 16, 2009 10:45 pm US/Eastern
More Customers Ditching Landline For Cell Phones
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Is it time to cut the cord? More and more people are giving up their traditional landline phone and using a cell phone exclusively.
This might sound like a simple and easy way to save money, but there are tradeoffs, besides the quality of your connection, to consider.
When asked, many consumers told us that they feel a house phone is just outdated now, and they are growing increasingly accustomed to using their cell phone even if they are in their house. Chris Collins, a wireless analyst at the Yankee Group in Boston, says this isn't just about convenience, however. The recession is also a large factor for many people.
When forced to make a decision between phones. Collins says more people now see the landline as the redundant phone and the cell phone as the one they cannot live without.
Collins also says the savings are real for many families in today's economy.
"We look at the combination of subscription television, high speed internet, home phone, and mobile phone, and on average families are spending over $220 per household." He added, "If you can reduce that by $30 to $40, that's going to be significant for many families."
Combine those savings with the new features of many phones, such as the IPhone, and it's not surprising that now, for the first time, more people are exclusively cellular than those who use only a landline.
One consumer said, "I just have the cell phone, that's all I need."
But is it, if you have to call 911 in an emergency?
Blair Sutherland, Director of Telecommunications for the Massachusetts State police, explained, "With a landline 911 call, the data is instantaneously displayed in front of the dispatcher. It contains the phone number. It contains the street address. With a cell phone call, when dialing 911, the data isn't always as exacting."
That's because the 911 system identifies the cell tower the call is hitting, not the exact spot where the call originates. We tried an experiment, calling 911 from a cell phone while we were standing in the State police 911 dispatch center.
Our call came up as 600 Worcester Road in Framingham, despite the fact that we were actually at 470 Worcester Road. In an emergency, valuable time would have been lost. Sutherland added, "Time is of the essence in public safety."
It's also important to know that when a 911 call is made in Massachusetts it automatically goes to one of three State Police centers equipped to take wireless calls. The call is then patched to a local police department.
State police officials say that calling 911 is still your best bet, however.
They tell us that no one should be using the old *77 or *SP system anymore.
Market Research shows that about half of all consumers want to keep their landline just for that reason. The most likely demographic to make the switch is younger consumers.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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