Demise of the Dial Tone

You can't tweet from it. You can't download ringtones for it. And in this economy, you can't afford it, either.

One in four American households have abandoned their landline telephones and gone cell phone-only, according to The Economist. But while ditching the landline makes good economic sense, the demise of the dial tone has some unintended consequences. For businesses and households that can't switch to cell phones, monthly bills are likely to spike higher in the future to cover costs. Political pollsters are finding it harder to get accurate readings on the electorate because they can't call mobiles. And telemarketers suffer as do-not-call registries swell, though not many of us are shedding a tear over that facet.

For those of us in radio-land, however, the landline is still loved. Next time your hear an interview on Word of Mouth via a distorted and fuzzy cell phone connection, you'll know why.

(Photo by splorp via Flickr/Creative Commons)