The God Awful suffering Cable Television and landlines

a reply to: olaru12

Some of the streaming services might die soon unfortunately.
Netflix is getting hit hard now and are losing programming and money.
Disney will launch there streaming service soon and they own everything it seems.

a reply to: drewlander

Fair enough. I'm not a doctor, so I didn't consider the fax machine aspect.

Being a landscaper and scraping by okay, like 99% of people, I don't need a landline.

a reply to: Assassin82

We cut the cord a few years ago when I found out about DirecTV NOW. We were early adopters and got 100 channels for $35/mo plus a free Firestick. They recently got renamed AT&TTV NOW, very cable-like and simple to use.

I cut the land line years before and moved our home number to Google Voice. Then all you need is an Obitalk box hooked to your router and a phone cord plugged into a phone jack in your house and you've got a VOIP "landline". Oh, and Google Voice is FREE. Totally free calls, voicemail, etc. plus low-rate overseas calls. It worked so well I did the same at my business and have got free phone and fax there too. I get a kick out of the VOIP salesguys coming around telling me that they guarantee they can save me money on my business phones. I tell them they would have to pay me every month to make that true.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: elkabong57

My alternative solution has been Amazon Prime and Netflix.

Prime has really stepped it up. At first it sucked so bad. Now they are actually putting out some good content.

NBCAdvantage is also about to launch with some fantastic content; Also here in tamalewood with Netflix.

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: seaswine
Maybe it's the millenial in me, but landlines are totally worthless.

City dweller, are you? You ought to rely on cell phones where the service is marginal--sometimes they work; sometimes they don't. Or when they do, it's intermittent. Now try to call 911. Still think they are worthless?

BTW, it's "millennial" but it's okay. I didn't know how to spell my own name when I was four years old either.

Deepest apologies for that mistake in spelling.

No I'm not a city dweller.

Have you heard of these things called tree limbs? They'll kill your landline pretty dang quick. Same with lightning or one of those pesky squirrels.

a reply to: olaru12

That's awesome man, I'll have to check it out.

I think it was around 2000 was the last time I had anything to do with landline or cable. I started using mobile phones when they started fitting in pockets and I went a good ten years or so without paying to have images appear on my television screen.

The only thing I pay for now is for access to the IoT. Through that I can get damn near anything I want for little to no cost.

Good luck with the mother-in-law. I'm sure you could show her how to use newer technology though. Old folks may be old, but with some patience they can still figure out how to watch their daily fix of westerns and soap operas.

The remote control hasn't really changed much over the last 30 odd years.

a reply to: seaswine

Have you heard of these things called tree limbs? They'll kill your landline pretty dang quick. Same with lightning or one of those pesky squirrels.

I live in a valley and regularly venture out into the mountains... While it's common to not have data available out in the wilderness, it's incredibly rare that there is just an all out dead zone. I believe even if it says it is receiving no service, chances are there is a provider in the area, and if my memory serves correctly, all providers must connect 911 calls. You can even do that with a cell phone that doesn't have a contract with any provider.

I think at the end of the day, we all have different circumstances. We have to weigh pros and cons, maybe landlines are the only viable option for some... But I don't really know of many people who still have one. No sense in paying two phone bills when one suffices.

originally posted by: seaswine
Maybe it's the millenial in me, but landlines are totally worthless.

Problem is, they put them in that damned 3-pack (cable, internet, phone) which is usually cheaper than getting just internet/cable.

I've had landline service for over 3 years now and haven't used it once.

Agreed, and unjustifiably overpriced compared to most prepay plans. Contrary to what Schuyler asserts in his limp-wrist dig, they're not not much of an issue in rural areas, either. Hell, my dad drives up through BFE stretches of CANADA for vacations with no loss of coverage. The crackle factor goes up a touch in terms of clarity, but that's about it.

Save for some remote areas out West that probably coincide with uninhabited wilderness if I were to compare with other maps, cell coverage as a whole is damn thorough in the US. Maybe Schuyler just has the wrong provider and hasn't figured it out yet.


I'd love to get rid of the damn cable, since we don't even have a TV hooked up anymore (streaming on the computers is how we watch anything) BUT Comcast is a bunch of asshats and won't let us switch to just internet without jacking the price up to the same cost as, or more than on some tries, getting a TV & internet combo package to begin with. WTF. Area monopolies suck.

I honestly can't remember the last time I had a landline in my own home. Maybe 1998 or 1999.

The last time I dealt with cable was 2007.

The last time I watched an over the air TV show via an antenna was around 2010 or 2011 I think. The antenna is still there, it just never dawns on me to think about it or utilize it. I can stream anything I want really.

All that said, have I / we really "cut the cable"?

As far as I can remember my landline phone bill was something like $19.99 a month base, with maybe $10 more in taxes and hidden fees tossed in. The house had a phone in just about every room because you could pick up a new phone at the store for about $10 or a really nice one for about $30.

The Samsung phone next to me cost $900 ( inboarded into my monthly bill for the most part ) and I pay roughly $100 a month for it.

My high speed Internet is $80 a month after it's all said and done. Then the add-ons start. Amazon Prime ( for the video as well as shipping ), Netflix, Hulu, CBS All Access and soon Disney Plus. Sure, they're only a few bucks a month each - but it adds up.

What I'm saying here is that I'm not entirely if I cut the cable or if the cable actually cut me...

originally posted by: Bluntone22
a reply to: olaru12

Some of the streaming services might die soon unfortunately.
Netflix is getting hit hard now and are losing programming and money.
Disney will launch there streaming service soon and they own everything it seems.

True, Disney divested from Netflix and may go down. The Europeans and Chinese are looking at the facility already.

There are 3 more large sound stages filled with TV shows. And all the western towns are booked.



abqstudios.com...

www.i-25studios.com...

www.santafestudios.com...

www.bonanzacreekranch.com...

a reply to: Hefficide

That's a very fair point.

But I see it as competition offered something better, and I went with that. I love having a cell phone, I don't mind paying 100 dollars a month for it (I even got a black Friday deal where a brand new phone at the time was 320 dollars with a new contract, and came with a free 4K TV).

I think cell phones definitely cost more, but they offer more. If you got one of those prepaid flip phones just for calls only, I'm sure you could get a plan for around 30 dollars.

As for the internet plus addons, I still see it as comparable to cable as far as price. Cable packages here have always been around 60$~, but they're also making money off of people by showing so many ads. Back in the day too, I remember many if not most people were renting about 2 movies a weekend, if not more at around 5 bucks a pop to supplement having some movies to watch. But with streaming, you have access to those movies instead of renting.

originally posted by: Hefficide
I honestly can't remember the last time I had a landline in my own home. Maybe 1998 or 1999.

Yeah, roughly 20 years since we had a landline in my teenage home, too. I never had one as an adult. I do keep a corded phone still, because if you plug a phone into an emergency jack, you can call 911 whether or not you have service, so it's a backup for cell phones & lack of power in that regard. but I never intend to ever have actual landline service unless they can beat my $15 a month prepay plan.

originally posted by: seaswine

originally posted by: schuyler

originally posted by: seaswine
Maybe it's the millenial in me, but landlines are totally worthless.

City dweller, are you? You ought to rely on cell phones where the service is marginal--sometimes they work; sometimes they don't. Or when they do, it's intermittent. Now try to call 911. Still think they are worthless?

BTW, it's "millennial" but it's okay. I didn't know how to spell my own name when I was four years old either.

Have you heard of these things called tree limbs? They'll kill your landline pretty dang quick. Same with lightning or one of those pesky squirrels.

You think that is a consideration? Seriously? Besides the fact that landlines are often underground, landlines going down because of squirrels or tree limbs, or a lightning strike is about as rare as, well, a lightning strike. It's not something that percolates to the top of the list of worries. Tree limbs are much more likely to make the electricity go out, and if it does, the landlines still work because every CO (Central Office) has a massive battery farm in the basement.

The point is, since apparently I have to make it more clear, that because YOUR experience tells you YOU don't need a landline, it does not therefore follow that landlines are "worthless" for everyone. In the scenario which I related, which applies to a great deal of the country, cell phone availability is not a given. They work fine when you travel the Interstate highway system where there are towers every few feet, but get out into the hinterlands or mountainous areas and that's where cell phones are "worthless." Hopefully you won't be needing to call 911 in one of those scenarios.

Quite obviously, landlines are on the way out. As fewer people have them the infrastructure costs to supply them will have to be spread out over fewer customers, making the cost rise. They have already doubled in price over the last few years. But the fact that they have lasted longer than the FCC expected shows you there is still sufficient demand to warrant their continued use. Reasoning from the specific to the general, as you have done, is just 'slightly stoopid.'

originally posted by: CriticalStinker
a reply to: Hefficide

I think cell phones definitely cost more, but they offer more. If you got one of those prepaid flip phones just for calls only, I'm sure you could get a plan for around 30 dollars.

Try half that -- Tracfone's two cheapest plans are $10 and $15. I alternate between the two, depending on whether or not I need more texts available. I don't sit on the phone and yak at someone all day, though (I actually have around 50 hours of talk time rolled over & available) and send around 2 dozen texts back and forth to my husband a week, so I'm a very light user to begin with. The $20 plans are probably more adequate for the folks who can't put theirs down, however.

a reply to: schuyler

And just because you seem to think landlines are useful or meaningful doesn't mean they are. Perceptions & importance work both ways, dude.

a reply to: Nyiah

Very cool, you're proving that if people weight what they want, they can really get that bill down to a small fraction if that's all they need.

I'm a bit spoiled. I like having the GPS, podcasts for my drives, or able to switch to music better than the radio. I also like to look places up on the fly. But to each their own, and the ability of having more options has helped us all spend money where we want on what we want instead of having one option, and one option only.

a reply to: schuyler

Like Nyiah pointed out, you can just keep a landline phone to plug in to call 911.

And if the phone lines get to a point that they're no long needed because capitalism doesn't want it.... I'm sure we'll have an alternative that is equally, if not more viable than the lines. Here soon there is going to be at least 3g cell coverage everywhere for the most part. I'm sure you could get an external receiver for sat phone for emergencies only that had a battery back up or something. We've innovated a lot of things. I don't see why this would spell our folly now.

a reply to: schuyler

Let's agree to disagree.

And you shouldn't take cheap shots at peoples signatures. Kinda makes you look like a jerk.

originally posted by: Nyiah
I'd love to get rid of the damn cable, since we don't even have a TV hooked up anymore (streaming on the computers is how we watch anything) BUT Comcast is a bunch of asshats and won't let us switch to just internet without jacking the price up to the same cost as, or more than on some tries, getting a TV & internet combo package to begin with. WTF. Area monopolies suck.

We were in the same boat until about 6 months ago, paying practically the same price for internet-only and no bundle when FINALLY we got AT&T fiber optic in our neighborhood. My wife even went out and talked to the AT&T linemen when she saw their truck. They told her the fiber optic lines would be up and running in 2-3 months. Well, we kept checking and bailed on Cox Cable the first day the fiber was up and haven't looked back!