Who is the typical person without a landline?

I guess they are younger, lower income, minority, and transient. Older white suburban homeowners are probably the most likely to have landlines. I'm guessing the polling companies consider those without landlines to be likely voters. An increasing number of people have caller ID and don't answer when they don't recognize the caller or if the caller shows up as private/unknown on the caller ID. I'm guess that people who answer pollsters are also likely to answer telemarketers.

It's there for the Internet connect.

They got them for security systems.

I don't know anyone with a landline, and the people I hang with are 40s, financially comfortable, own houses. We have twisted copper pair for the DSL; there's a phone number asoociated with it but it's never been used as anything but a DSL.

in 2001. oh and i own my home.

a single middle aged male.

but yes the demographics of who still has landlines, and who will actually bother to answer particpate in a phone poll is changing and those factors could skew poll results.

except for gender.

who considers people to be without landlines poorer, younger, less white and less stable?

Old habits die slowly, including voting Repuke. A transient young college student who moves around a lot never even bothers to call the phone company for landline since they have a cell phone but this also means they don't bother to register to vote whent they move except for big elections and probably aren't even connected to local politics and don't bother to request and absentee ballot from the permanent location (usually parents house) because they don't consider that their home anymore while the old white suburban homeowner has been in the present location for years and has a connection with local politics. These people have probably had the same number on their landline for over 10 years and hasn't needed to register to vote since they moved into their home

as have my younger brothers who also have no landlines. 2 of us own houses. We actually just choose not to pay for 2 phone lines when it isn't necessary and costs more money. And the only thing a landline offers is telemarketers. And I've been in my "area" for 5 years.

I'd say these misconceptions are only held by the type of person you mention.

:shrug: I haven't had a landline in years.

On re-re-edit: To clarify that there was actually a POINT to my post -- I'm one of those "older," white, suburban people. Most of my friends of that description don't have landlines either.

Thing is, we are slow to answer the phone, so those same numbers keep calling back every 10 minutes or so until we do answer in time. It always turns out to be some robocall when it continues to ring in 10 minute intervals like that.

I wonder how many more people could be reached if they would let it go ahead and ring long enough for us slowpokes to get to it, say like 4 or 5 rings. It would end up taking less time than calling back over and over again. Instead, it is just 3 rings and gone. It takes me 2 rings to cuss about the phone ringing (I hate phones, except in case of emergency) and the third ring to get up and go in the other room and get the phone.

With an established career and connections to your area? Do renters even bother to call the phone company for a landline when they move from place to place?

infact the bell is turned off of it. I only use it for outgoing calls, such as when it's a long call with a friend because the cell phone gets so hot on my ear. Also for more security when discussing finances with the bank or credit card company.

on them and when I'm talking finanaces I want the conversation to be clearly understood by the other party I'm talking to.

I lived in northern AZ..there were no landlines..I don't fit any of the demographics..Satellite for internet was the only choice

...of lead-acid wet batteries up at the headhouse.

When the power goes out -- and it does, regularly -- the landline phone works.

We were power-out for 14 days in '98 (ice-storm) and never lost the phone. Three days this spring (nor'easter) ditto.

You could run the DSL modem and router from a car power inverter

...insofar as you could do it that way, but it would be messy and difficult.

I'll also never give up my old, corded Trimline phone for that reason. It doesn't need electricity to operate, like the cordless phones do, or cell phone rechargers do. Nor, do landlines drop your call every two minutes, like cell phones do.

I saw upthread a claim that the only thing landlines bring is telemarketers. Funny, after the "Do not call" thing got started, I have never gotten a telemarketer. ALL of my friends with cell phones, on the other hand, get calls constantly.

and when I told them it was a cell phone they said sorry and hung up.

...rid of my land line a couple years ago.

I've been doing phone bank calls for Russ Feingold and lots and lots of numbers have been disconnected.

I suspect your generalizations are off-target.

nt

Most of our friends are getting rid of their landlines too.

Lose power and your portable handset won't work, your cellphone battery dies or tower power goes and you have no communication.

A friend of mine in Houston lost power for 6 days during the last hurricane there. Every time he picked up his landline phone, he had dial tone. His cell phone worked sporadically because some of the towers had no power.

I have a landline phone with one hardwired phone-I may sit in the dark but I can call out.
I also have a VOIP that I use for long distance and very few people have that number.
I have a cell which isn't even turned on 90% of the time and only about 6 people have that number-when I leave the house I don't want to be bothered on the phone.

our computer is hooked to it also. I keep a Tracfone which is always off and is used for travel or running errands in town during the winter in case I have a road emergency. I buy minutes once a year and usually have minutes left over at the end of the year. Otherwise, I rarely use the phone except to talk to my children or to make appointments or for business. Until cell phones lose the contracts and become cheaper, we'll keep our current communication arrangement.

Let me give you a clue, there are plenty of homes in this country that are planted in places where there is no cell phone coverage.

Full of older white conservative "likely" voters

we recognize the number. I used to feel bad about screening the numbers but don't anymore because we were getting so many junk calls. I know for a fact that most of our friends also screen their calls as well. The main reason we have a landline is because not everyone in the home has a mobile (two younger kids), we get terrible reception on this street and we get hurricane power outages.

Includes whites, more affluent people. Land-lines are increasingly being seen as obsolete. And just about everyone screens calls or doesn't answer calls at all through land-lines they do have (including me.)

Gave it up couple of years ago. Good decision.

High income.

...well I am, Hubbie is Chinese. We use pay as you go cell phones and MagicJack only (used to be Skype before eBay ruined it).

When we lived in the Bay Area, we had 'naked DSL' - which is DSL over a phone line with NO phone service required. Now we live in a small town on the Oregon Coast that offers High Speed Internet through 'over the air' wifi. If you are range of the tower - you can get 5-10 meg service - good enough that we no longer have any TV services either - we stream all TV/Movies these days.

on my cell phone.

I imagine as more cell phone companies offer unlimited calling, more people will drop their landlines.

As in, you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming (actually, I'me early voting tomorrow!)