In a rather bold statement, the CEO of Verizon Communications basically said that the company simply doesn’t care about landline anymore.

The statement may be bold but I think we all knew in the back of our minds this was coming. Generally speaking, the only reason anybody has a landline phone today is either because a) it’s required in order to use DSL internet service, b) cell phone reception is not available for whatever reason or c) the internet connection is too slow to handle broadband VoIP properly.

If I asked how many of you out there use your wireless phone as your primary phone, chances are the majority of you would say, "I do!"

If I asked how many of you do have a landline, but it’s through your cable company and not the local Telco, chances are also good the majority of you would say, "I do!" (And in fact I’m one of them.)

Why do so many choose wireless and/or cable over Telco?

The first answer is cost.

For basic communications, a prepaid cell phone is cheaper than a POTS landline.

For business-grade phone service, VoIP offerings from your local cable company or broadband make it super-easy to setup. It also costs less and in many instances can have same-day setup.

The second answer is features.

On a basic POTS line you get absolutely nothing in the way of features – not even Caller ID. With the absolute cheapest prepaid cell phone you can buy you can at least see the incoming number of who is calling you. You also get 3-way calling, voicemail and texting besides that.

You will spend $25 a month (not including tax) in most places for a featureless POTS line. If you were to go with Vonage, that same $25 a month gets you unlimited calling anywhere. And I mean anywhere; it includes international calling to over 60 countries with no additional cost to you.

The third answer is value.

Who in their right mind would go with a POTS landline when you can get so much more stuff with wireless or VoIP that’s actually useful for the same price?

At this point the only thing keeping POTS around is the fact that broadband and wireless isn’t available everywhere in the US. In fact there is a study going on right now being paid for by the US government in an attempt to find out what our broadband reach is – because to be honest nobody knows the true answer to that at present.

Do you agree with the Verizon Communications CEO? Is it time to put old-style landline out to pasture?

One thing which really amazes me is how many people use (extremely) ‘relaxed’ language in professional communications. Be it email, memos or data entry notes, whenever you are communicating as a professional, take the time to use proper case, punctuation and spell check. It can be a really poor reflection on yourself if you do not.

I’m not saying you need to be anal retentive about it, but taking a few extra seconds to proof what you are about to put your name on is time well spent. When you are sending personal correspondence, use whatever you like, but when you are ‘on the clock’ represent yourself well.

For those that have ever asked the question “What is the point of the internet anyway?” The answer is two things: Information and communication. That is why we use the internet to begin with. Everything else is a secondary consideration.

When you communicate with others you can get to know people thousands of miles away, trade items and just do generally cool stuff. See video below for details.

Yep, that’s right. I turn 33 today, so you can clicky-clicky on your mouse on over to here or here and send a card to rich@frostedside.com.

Being that I was born smack dab in the mid-70s (1975), my generation was literally the last that experienced the world before internet. As a matter of fact, my generation was also the last before the advent of pagers (remember those?), cordless phones, cellular/wireless phones, cable television, satellite television/internet, home video (VHS/Betamax), compact discs, GPS and so on.

Computers were around, but it was a for-enthusiasts-only club (i.e. nerds) up until well into the 2000s.

Do I long for the days past when we didn’t have all of today’s modern technology around?

Absolutely not.

My opinion is that technology has matured in a way that has without a shadow of a doubt improved life.

Unofficially, consumer-available internet wasn’t widely available until 1996, so let’s turn back the clock to 1995 and compare tech then to tech today in 2008. We’ll also throw some other modern-day tech into the mix here.

Confirming the balance on your checking account

1995: Manually keep a record of your balance in the back of your checkbook, by hand. Wait until the bank opens on a day when you’re not going to work (usually Saturday) and either call or visit to confirm the actual balance is correct – and it usually wouldn’t be.

2008: Login to your bank’s web site and check the balance – anytime.

Placing a phone call for a tow service when your car breaks down

1995: Lock your car and literally abandon it, walk to the nearest payphone, grab the attached phonebook (assuming it has one), find a tow service listing, put a coin into the phone (assuming you have one), place a call to the tow service, walk back to your car and wait.

OR

If there are no payphones around, go to a stranger’s house and do the EXTREMELY awkward thing of knocking on someone’s door and pray to God it’s someone nice that will let you use their phone to place a call to a tow service.

2008: Grab your wireless phone, dial 411 (in the US), be auto-connected to a tow service and schedule a truck/lorry to come by and get your car to the nearest garage. The wait time is the same but at least you don’t have to abandon your car.

Getting turn-by-turn driving directions to anywhere

1995: Use a fold-out map, physically draw your route using a “highlighter” marker, assuming your vision is good enough to read the jumble of lines.

2008: Internet and/or GPS. If using internet, print your map just for the area you need to know (far easier to read). If using GPS, get in the car, punch in the address and go.

Communicating with anyone by voice in a different country

1995: Place a phone call and cringe knowing you’re spending an obscene amount of money every minute you’re connected just to say “hello”.

2008: Use free client-to-client voice communication via internet. Smile knowing that you’re saving loads of money compared to a phone call. And it sounds better than a phone, too.

. . .

The above are just four seemingly insignificant examples but are in fact very significant.

If you use internet and tech in a way that serves (keyword there), you have the advantage of using communication and data mediums that make life easier and better.

Simply put, I don’t miss the pre-internet/pre-tech world and look forward to what tomorrow brings.

As a final note, I still to this day love the fact that the internet is truly a world-serving thing. When I see something as simple as blog comment from people across the USA or from other nations (Canada, UK, Australia and anywhere else that has internet access), that’s just plain awesome.