In the wake of cutting back on our cable bill, Kris and I dropped our land-line today. I have to admit, this actually makes me nervous. Kris has a cell phone. I have one through work, but most of my communication these days is by e-mail. But something inside me makes me nervous to not have the warm, friendly telephone that's been part of my life for nearly forty years.

How many of you have given up your land-line? Do you have any advice for making the transition?

I haven't had a land line since it was included in my grad student housing!

If you live in a decent reception area and have a charger, you shouldn't have any problem! Except maybe figuring out what you're going to do with your extra $400/year! And you're doubly safe with two phones!

I'm 24, and I haven't had a land line since I lived with my parents (I paid for my own line). I've survived with just a cell phone for about 6 years now and I don't miss having a land line at all. The only thing I'm thinking about changing is maybe switching to a pre-paid cell phone to save a few more bucks since I hardly use my cell phone (my bill is about $50/month).

JD- I was cell-only for several years which worked for me while I was in residency. Recently I moved to a neighborhood where cell reception is iffy, so I got a land line again. The biggest benefit I've found so far is that I can give out my home number and there is no expectation that I will always answer the phone. (This sounds anti-social, and I guess it is, but it is a direct by-product of being tied to a pager most of the week) But the cost is a downside, and if I could, I would just use the cell still.

I got rid of my land line when I moved out on my own. It was one expense I didn't see the point of - I have a cell phone and it's always on. I may not always answer, but I'll get the message. Plus I don't have to pay extra for voicmail, caller ID or any of the other ad ons that come with a land line. When my company decided to provide me with a phone, I dropped the personal cell (with their blessing) and now I'm saving twice over.

I too don't have a landline and just use a mobile and I really like it. It means that I don't have to be at home to answer calls and my number stays the same when I move house. In fact, if I when I buy my new house, I'll probably get a landline put in for the internet, but Ill still use the mobile.

Due to the fact that I have an ADT Security System, which requires a landline.
That and I have also have Yahoo! DSL.
I guess I could get a naked DSL (data only) but if I've gotta have it, might as well keep things the way they are.

- Bill

The largest problem you're likely to have is getting people with whom you do business, such as doctors or auto garages, to understand that your primary (sole) phone number is not appropriate to call you at during "work" hours. These sorts of places will often call at 11am or 3pm expecting to leave a message on your answering machine, because we all have answering machines, right? They get a bit confused when you pick up that unfamiliar number, and moreso if you act annoyed at being interrupted at your day job.

I've tried repeatedly to get people to record my only number (my cel phone) as a cel to avoid this, but most software for business use is still written to demand a home phone.

Ah yes, put yourself on the do-not-call list; unsolicited calls to cels are allowed now, primarily because of folks like us who've dropped land lines. You could check our www.killthecalls.com (not my site) if it ever becomes a problem, but many of the strategies there (like serving papers on people who call you) are a touch extreme.

You could try Skype In for incoming calls to the house. If you don't have a computer on to receive the call it goes to an automatic voicemail system. The voicemail is online so besides Skype there's nothing to download. For an annual number for people to call, it's $38 annually. It's huge step down from your phone line and still gives a number to people that you don't want to give them your cell phone.

http://www.skype.com/products/skypein/

Add me to the list of mobile-only. I live by myself, which I think makes it a bit easier.
I'd like my parents to go mobile-only, since they're now retired and travelling. They have cheapo pay-as-you-go cellphones and are hesitant to use them at all. Unfortunately they also have a monitored alarm at home that requires a landline.

JD,

I've operated without a land-line for close to seven years. I'm not sure what makes you nervous about going totally wireless. If you're concerned about the possibility of a service outage, I can make one recommendation. Sign up with a cell phone company that uses a different technology than what Kris uses. For example, if Kris uses a GSM phone, you would use a CDMA phone. This gives you a bit of reassurance that even if one network goes down, you'll still have another phone that works. This is getting a bit paranoid, as from my experience cell networks are extremely reliable these days. You would also need to verify that you have service of both networks at home.

squished

Cell only for 6 months, and love it. Everything works great, including a call to 911. You do have to be careful, however, in managing who you give the number to. You don't want telemarketers calling your cell number.

@Croz
Anyone in particular I should avoid giving my number to? I'm not too free with it in the first place, but even so...

@Squished
I'm not sure what makes me nervous about going completely wireless, either, except for the fact that I've always had a land-line. It just feels like something I should have. In the short-term, there's also my lack of faith in bureaucracy. That is, I've asked to cut the land-line but keep my high-speed DSL, and I'm afraid that something's going to get gummed up someplace. Thursday is the actual effective date for all this, so we'll see what happens.

It feels so strange lately to have sharply reduced cable servies, and to have cut the land-line. We're basically getting rid of utilities we've always had. But we're also going to be saving nearly $100/month by doing so!

Basically, I don't enter any contests, giveaways, etc. that require the phone number. I also don't put a phone number on anything like magazine subscriptions, etc.

Most telemarketing calls are directory generated, and cell numbers don't get listed there. So it's not a big problem. If you're already careful, then you should be fine.

Next thing you know you'll have a solar array and a vertical-axis wind turbine, living off-the-grid.