I rarely make calls on my home phone. The only people who call on the home line are telemarketers and my college – both of who beg for money on pretty regular basis. Last week I received a letter from Vonage that my monthly Residential Basic 500 service bill (I only pay for the $15/mo 500 minute plan) was rising by $3.00 to $18 per month. For quite some time now it seems Vonage has been working to move their subscribers upstream to their $ 25/mo unlimited plan.
The problem I see with Vonage – and most wired carriers – is that their service completely duplicates my existing cell phone coverage. Why do I need two phones? In the last year I have received exactly zero calls on my home phone line. Everyone calls my cell phone (or even better – I encourage them to email). The only thing that I use my home phone line for is to call in when I receive a credit card in the mail to validate it and listen to some lengthy fifteen minute pitch that tries to sell me credit protection and a half dozen other services I don’t want or need.
So today I called AT&T and began the process to port my number OFF Vonage and onto my BlackBerry Bold.
Will I still receive telemarketing and college fundraising calls? Probably but I actually USE this line and it is only $9.99 per month on an AT&T family plan (plus the $30 BlackBerry data).
Vonage and all other wireline carriers need to wake up to the new reality. There’s not that much need anymore for wired phones. The concept of a phone on the wall in your kitchen is going to seem quaint in 5 or 10 years. People will eventually wake up to the fact that they’re duplicating service that is already being provided on their cell phone. What family doesn’t already have a cell phone for every member? Family plans are widely available (and used) which allow for minute sharing at only an additional $9.99 per user. These minutes can be used in the house or while on the go. Most weekend and evening time is free.
Cutting my home phone line is something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I only kept it because I wanted a line for a babysitter to use in case I decided some day to use a babysitter for the kids. However I’ve suddenly awoken to the notion of how old fashioned a wired phone is. The fee increase by Vonage pushing me toward a higher plan was the last straw. Bye Bye home phone line. I haven’t used you in the last year and I won’t miss you.
