At 23 Jul 2008 17:49:35 -0400 Diamond Dave wrote:

> OUCH! I knew that cellular and VOIP were hurting landline business,
> but not THAT bad.


But does it really matter, since DSL represents half of broadband sales.
Does, for example, Qwest really care if I pay them $40/month for dry DSL
internet, (then use VoIP) instead of $30 for a landline? It's kind of like
why McDonald's sells salads and grilled chicken sandwiches- it replaces the
potential lost revenue of customers who don't like/want beef.

> Ugh... how much longer until the amount of ILEC landline customers
> leaving will ease? Though I have cellular and VOIP, I consider those
> to be either toys or just a nice convenience.


Agreed.

> I'll still keep my landline, even if I drop most of the features on
> there to bring the price down. Why? For or reliability and most
> importantly, voice quality. Neither GSM or CDMA or any VOIP codec can
> sound as well as a landline. They've come close in recent years, but
> still don't sound as good as a traditional landline.


Agreed again. But realistically it's a non-issue- the landline companies
have already diversified into internet, VoIP and cellular. Verizon isn't
really going to cry a river when a $30 landline customer dumps it for a $50
Verizon wireless cellular plan!