Death of the Land Line
Land lines, as they are commonly called, have only been available for about 150 years. Many years ago, people watched the Bell system grow, spreading and placing telephones throughout the world at an unbelievable pace. First there were operator assisted calls, then, dial your own party, and later push button systems. Suddenly, there was a phone booth on every corner.
As technological growth accelerated; party lines disappeared, then phone booths and now the phone attached to the wall (land line) is becoming an “endangered species”. The land line could soon be as obsolete as the telegraph. This ancient technology appears to have run its course and may soon be buried beside desktop computers. A current trend in countries, leading technological innovations, is to not install the obsolete infrastructure intensive phone system necessary for land lines. Globally, many businesses are choosing to go completely wireless. It is common for a company to transfer their “land tied phone number” to a mobile device, so as not to alienate clients.
This appears to be a wireless generation. The common response of people, under the age forty, when asked if they have a land line, is – LAND LINE?? Most prefer a cellular phone. Now checking with the forty and older generation, a surprisingly large number have quit using “land lines” or are planning to do so soon. Even internet access in not restricted to wires anymore. This appears to be the largest and most dynamic paradigm shift in communication since the telegraph.