Kansas City Phone service - is traditional phone service dead?

If you’re getting ready to settle into your new Kansas City apartment home and you’re in a quandary over what to do about your Kansas City phone service, you’re not alone. More and more these days, people are turning to alternative methods of staying in touch. It almost seems that with the advent of cellular telephones, the Internet, pagers and even two-way talk phones, the need for an old fashioned landline is gone. Heck, you don’t even need a landline for computers any more with cable and IP phones and cellular Internet access.

So, is traditional phone service dead in Kansas City? Is that landline necessary? The answer to both is yes, no and maybe. There are some serious advantages and disadvantages to both when you choose to go one route or the other: Many people try one, then the other, and then end up using both to meet all their needs. Here are some pros and cons to going with one or the other as your solo means of communication with the outside world.

Traditional landline service only:

Pros:

• Almost always available in an emergency at home, especially if the phone used doesn’t require electric service. You know, the old dinosaurs that plug into the wall directly and only hook up to the phone jack?
• A set number that’s leaves personal calls at home when you’re elsewhere and don’t want to deal with things like solicitation calls or other annoyances.
• A good number to give your creditors and other personal business relations so you’re not bothered while at work or otherwise occupied. Plus, if this number is used, you don’t have to pay minute charges to talk to these folks.
• Easy to locate. You generally can find a landline in your house, unless of course, like millions of us, you use a cordless and misplace the handset!

Cons:

• You can’t take it with you. Let’s face it, a landline can only reach so far, even if they’re cordless. No running to the store while carrying on a conversation with your best friend with one of these! And, no making emergency calls from your car in the middle of the night when a flat has you stuck in the rain. Argh!
• Important calls might be missed, even with a recorder. You just can’t get instant gratification like you can with a cell phone carried everywhere with you.
• No nifty extra features like portable Internet service, text messaging and even GPS for when you absolutely need to find a coordinate!

Cell phone service only:

Pros:

• Your home phone goes everywhere with you. Any time day or night, you can get calls from friends, family and business contacts. No worries about missed calls with one of these.
• Internet access that’s mobile. Some cell phone services enable you to access the Web from your phone, without a computer. How cool is that?
• GPS service is offered by some cell phone companies, making a cellular phone more versatile than a landline any day.

Cons:

• Losing your home phone! Car keys, check. Wallet, check. Phone, oh no! It can be a real nightmare tracking down a lost cell phone in the morning.
• Forgetting to charge the battery. Nothing’s worse than losing an important call because of forgetting to charge the night before. That obnoxious sound most cellular phones make when the battery is low just adds insult to injury!
• Dropped calls. It can happen with landlines every so often, but cell phones are notorious for dropped calls, no service areas and other inconveniences.
• You can take it with you. When you use your cell phone as your home phone, too, it’s always (unless the cat batted it under the dining room table and you couldn’t find it before you left for work) always with you. This means creditors, family, friends and even solicitors who managed to wrangle your number can always track you down. That portable home phone will ring at the most inopportune times, count on it. You can’t stop Mom from calling to tell you about her trip to the podiatrist during your late business meeting if your home phone is always with you.

Cellular telephones are great, there’s no doubt. In fact, many people wouldn’t be caught dead without one. Imagine being trapped with a dead car on a deserted road and no way to call for help. Not anymore, thanks to the cell. Despite the advantages of a cell in an emergency, many people choose to go only with a landline or to combine the two. The combination works great for those with kids or other concerns at home. Imagine going out and leaving the kids with a sitter and the only phone in the house is a cell. If you take the cell, the sitter can’t call in case of an emergency. If you leave it, she might not be able to get you where you are.

Therein lies the quandary and why, perhaps, the landline isn’t dead just yet.