Hanging up on home phones

Ever find yourself wondering whether it’s worth it to keep and, perhaps more importantly, pay for that home phone line?

Even though a majority of Canadian homes have at least one cellphone, most are not completely abandoning their land lines. Statistics Canada says 78 per cent of Canadian households had cellphones in 2010, up from 74 per cent two years earlier. Households with land line phones stood at 67 per cent last year, down from 83 per cent in 2008.

But the land line versus cellphone question is one many 20-something Canadians don’t even ponder.

“Having that land line, for me, is sort of a waste of money,” says James Drummond, “because if people want to reach me and they want to get a hold of me, it’s going to be after 10 p.m. before I can even check (messages) half the time.”

The 27-year-old who lives in Ottawa adds: “Having a cellphone means people can easily access me …”

That Statistics Canada study found 13 per cent of households were comprised of cellphone users only with no land line, up from eight per cent in 2008.

Read the whole story: The Montreal Gazette