It is a common practice, allowed by law, to take your current phone number and transfer it to a mobile device. In this age of technology this complete process should only take a couple of hours. However, when dealing with a small phone company, that has not released a number before, it could take weeks before the transfer is complete. Have no fear, it can be done.

Some of the technical issues you may encounter if you intend to switch over yourland line to a cellular device are; The local telephone company may be inexperienced at this, since not many landline customers have asked to port out, which is the technical term, or you may even be their guinea pig. Another issue you may encounter with local telephone companies is, them being less than enthusiastic about releasing phone numbers. This means they are losing business (numbers = customers). Most individuals in this century are using wireless devices, the landline is becoming increasingly obsolete. Many people and businesses now utilize a cellular phone for all their communication and information needs.

The cutting edge business we speak of has been partly wireless for quite some time, using a mobile hotspot for their internet connection and cellular phones, in order to do business on-the-go. After much research and consideration, the IT department realized it was good business to combine the hotspot with a new smartphone. The IT department started the expected simple transfer of the landline number to a mobile device. The device chosen was the Droid 3. Through an ordering glitch the hotspot service was not enabled immediately and they had to wait for the porting process to be completed first. However, the company owners were able to continue their business uninterrupted, without access to the hotspot (no external wireless access was used). The company attended to all their normal business functions; online banking, emails, blogs, news, research, contracts, document creation, etc., all from a Droid 3.

After this learning experience, especially using a smartphone, the company has determined it will be doing more work in-the-cloud than ever predicted. This article is being written on a mobile device by voice input. The ultimate question may be, “Why type when you can speak into the microphone and edit later?” This accelerated and accurate voice recognition technology brings to mind the old Star Trek movie when it is so “quaint” to have to use a mouse as an input device.

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.