The explosive growth of the wireless and VoIP industry in the last decade has been impressive. Consumers are moving away from legacy telephony systems that use copper wiring in favor of VoIP technology. With smart phones and tablets becoming cheaper by the day, unlimited texting and talking plans being offered by phone carriers as well as innovative solutions such as Vonage and MagicJack that allow for inexpensive international calls through VoIP, most people find it hard to justify the expense of having a traditional landline in their home 020732 prefix australia landline phones lookup.
Even business organizations that rely on phone communications have quickly switched over to VoIP systems as they offer far more advanced features and flexibility at a fraction of the price of legacy systems. A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) revealed that 35% of American households did not have a landline at all, in other words more than one third of American homes depend on wireless service only.
Landline phones have been in a steady decline for the last five years which has only been accelerated by the growth of smart phones and wireless technology. In spite of the stagnating numbers, there are many reasons why people still have landlines in their homes. Landlines work as backups in case of emergencies, especially when the need arises to call 911. Emergency systems can automatically get the location of the caller even if they do not know the address or are unable to speak.
Landline phones also do not need power to work which means calls can be made even when the electricity goes out. Mobile phones or VoIP devices often need some source of backup power to function and you can never be sure if they are dependable during an emergency. Wired phones are also easier to locate within the office since they cannot be moved and searching for a mobile phone can be tedious. Internet service can be unreliable and slow in remote or rural areas and hence consumers and businesses there depend more on POTS than cellular or VoIP service.
However, VoIP service providers and wireless carriers are constantly improving on their technology to solve such problems as well as increasing coverage to rural areas. Companies such as Verizon and AT&T are also looking at phasing out the copper networks in the next decade since it is not economical to build and maintain them for the few people who still use landlines. It is no longer a question of if but when landline phones will be completely replaced by other options.
