Cost of communications
Interesting article in the Economist on the cost of telecommunications.
I have been looking closely at the cost of owning a landline phone. When I say landline what it really is is a box attached to the cable system into which my phone is plugged in. I get unlimited local and long distance, I am not sure what the international rates are but I use a separate provider for that.
I use this landline to make and get international phone calls from family, as well as announcements from town hall (a nice service but mostly non-relevant to me), and the occasional call asking for my opinions (I have lots, just ask me), or money for this or that cause (I have already given thank you).
For everything else I use my cell phone. Which makes me wonder if I should drop the landline altogether. Currently it costs me $30 but I get $15 off my broadband connection because I get both service. That $15 rebate would go if I dropped my landline, so it could be argued that it costs me $15 only. It could also be argued that I am paying the going rate for my broadband and the $15 is a penalty for dropping them. Either way, I would only save $180/year if I dropped the landline.
IM: fschiettecatte
I’m still cellphone less which people are looking at with ever increasing shock and disdain. What if your cell phone dies for any number of reasons? Battery breaks, firmware gets bricked, you drop it and it smashes. A landline is always there. My phone is as old as I am, heavy as a brick, and practically indestructible.
True, some cell phones can be fragile, but they offer mobility which land lines don’t and that is why they are so popular in spite of some of their drawbacks and higher cost.