It’s not surprising that the major Australian telecommunication companies are experiencing a decline in landline connections. As mobile phones become more affordable, the thought of paying $20-$50 a month just for line rental seems absurd. Calls from mobile-to-mobile and mobile-to-landline have become more affordable (especially if you are calling somebody on the same network), so connecting a landline is becoming less appealing. If you get good reception in your home, why not think about replacing your home phone with your mobile as your primary phone line?

Cheaper and more convenient alternatives:

We seem to have made the home phone redundant, at least for residential purposes. After all, we usually dial to be connected with a person, not a location. Mobile phones are more convenient: they follow us on the move, and we don’t have to worry about two different bills or two different call rates.

There is also computer-based telephony as an alternative to the home phone. Services such as Skype or VoIP are providing cheaper options without having to pay a high monthly line rental. Additionally, they also provide a cheaper option to dialling overseas. But with these services, if the internet or power drops out so does your call. If your internet connection slows down, the sound becomes eerily distorted. This may be why many businesses are yet to say goodbye to the landline.

The home phone: so what is it good for?

Many of us have realised that we aren’t ready to do away with the home phone just yet. There’s still one thing standing in the way: high speed broadband. With the exception of NakedDSL, high speed broadband runs through your landline, and it needs to be an active connection (usually on the Telstra infrastructure.) Even NakedDSL requires an active landline for the initial connection, although some companies will organise the connection and disconnection for you. NakedDSL is also yet to be available to many residents in Australia, particularly in non metro areas.

So what does this all mean?

Well, you’ll have to formulate your own prediction. But in the meantime, get nostalgic and reminisce: remember dial tones? Using a public phone? Listening in on your sibling’s private phone call through a phone in another room? I do.