Home Phone Disappearing?
This was posted Thursday @ 24/7 Wall Street:
Trouble For Verizon (VZ) And AT&T (T): The Home Phone Is Disappearing Faster
Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) are in a race to see whether the growth in their cellular and broadband businesses can accelerate faster than their residential landline businesses are shrinking. The fate of their earnings hangs in the balance.
The recent news about the prospects of holding onto landline customers has not been terribly good. According to the AP,”the number of U.S. households opting for only cell phones has for the first time surpassed those that just have traditional landlines.”
The figures are bound to get worse as cell phones add more features and 3G networks extend their reaches beyond major cities and into suburbs and smaller towns.
The landline still has some utility because it does not need electricity to work. In an emergency, that is a comfort. And, it is an advantage over VoIP and cellular service. But, that advantage is only important in areas of the country with weak electric infrastructure and the number of areas like that is extremely limited.
The day is coming when almost no one will have a residential landline. Verizon and AT&T need to hope that every one of the customers who drop the traditional service will have a telecom broadband connection and two or three extra cell phones on hand.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) are in a race to see whether the growth in their cellular and broadband businesses can accelerate faster than their residential landline businesses are shrinking. The fate of their earnings hangs in the balance.
The recent news about the prospects of holding onto landline customers has not been terribly good. According to the AP,”the number of U.S. households opting for only cell phones has for the first time surpassed those that just have traditional landlines.”
The figures are bound to get worse as cell phones add more features and 3G networks extend their reaches beyond major cities and into suburbs and smaller towns.
The landline still has some utility because it does not need electricity to work. In an emergency, that is a comfort. And, it is an advantage over VoIP and cellular service. But, that advantage is only important in areas of the country with weak electric infrastructure and the number of areas like that is extremely limited.
The day is coming when almost no one will have a residential landline. Verizon and AT&T need to hope that every one of the customers who drop the traditional service will have a telecom broadband connection and two or three extra cell phones on hand.
Douglas A. McIntyre
Link to Website: http://247wallst.com/
Comment: While I think the home phone will continue to decline I don't think it really is in danger of going away soon. Here's why. First older people (and I must include myself in that category) will probably never feel comfortable ditching the landline. Anyone who's tried talking long distance into a cell phone during a rain storm will understand why. 2nd, as mentioned above in an emergency the landline still works. In fact we keep in a closet an old plug in phone just in case we really need to connect to the outside world and the power is gone. 3rd until the issue of clarity becomes better and dropped calls essentially go away many people will still want to keep their landlines. Still there is no doubt in my mind that this is essentially a dying business. Someday all the issues I've listed above will go away and my generation will be gone. At that time the landline will become history. But that day is still a bit away.
posted by CR English at 6:55 AM
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