Edit: I still have a landline, and I still like it.
Originally posted May 10, 2011 on AIXchange
I know I shouldn’t say this, since I work in technology, but I still have a landline phone at home, and I like it.
Sure, I’ve used voice over IP (VOIP) for webinars, and I’ve had different flavors of Cisco and Avaya IP phones on my desk through the years (and probably some others that I don’t recall at the moment). And it’s fine. I can seldom tell the difference between VOIP and traditional landlines. On my PC I use Skype and Google voice and different kinds of VOIP software. With these solutions, my computer makes for a perfectly acceptable phone.
Still, when you get right down to it, I prefer the voice quality of my regular old landline phone. Tell me I’m a luddite. Remind me — since most people on are cell phones or VOIP these days — that my landline calls go over IP at some point in their journey anyway. I still argue that you can run into issues with latency and jitter with VOIP that you don’t face with the regular old phone system. I also prefer to have a working landline phone in case the Internet goes down or the power goes out (although I’m not sure who I’d call since the rest of you have apparently switched to VOIP).
Maybe it’s because I still do numerous conference calls, but I prefer a landline with a nice, old-school Plantronics headset. Sure, I sacrifice mobility, but I don’t have to worry about dying batteries or the connection getting choppy while I download large files. I deal with these issues plenty when I’m on the road, so I know of what I speak. I’ll be using a laptop and wireless phone with a wireless headset, and eventually, inevitably, the batteries for each will slowly drain. My Bluetooth wireless headset is usually the first to go. While I do have wired headsets that I’ll then plug into the cell phone, I know it’s a matter of time before that phone battery goes next. Then I’ll generally plug the phone into an outlet (rather than spend a few minutes dropping the call and changing the battery).
Are these big hassles? No. But they’re still hassles. Then there’s the sound quality issue. I’m convinced that cell phones still lag behind landlines in that regard.
Getting back to VOIP, it has its own drawbacks. With a VOIP software client, you cannot leave your computer. You cannot reboot your computer. You cannot move large files around without affecting the call quality. If someone else on the network starts using the bandwidth, your call quality can be affected.
Admittedly, I see fewer issues with VOIP than I once did. I also know there are products that will route calls to your cell or VOIP phone, or your home phone. And I further know that it’s 2011. But I’m the guy who still loves — and uses — an IBM Model M keyboard. Even though I work with incredible, cutting-edge technology every day, there’s still a bit of old-school in me.
However, if you’d like to drop me a line and tell me I’m crazy to not be dropping my landline — or if you want to point out some new solutions I should pay more attention to — leave a message in Comments.