We have two "land-line" phones in our house. Originally, they were both through Verizon, a traditional telephone provider that traces itself to the break-up of the old AT&T. Years ago, we changed one of the lines to our cable provider and bundled it with Internet and cable TV. But we kept the traditional Verizon line.
It was a good thing. During Superstorm Sandy, when we lost power for twelve days, the Verizon line worked and I was able to use an old "princess" phone that took its power from the phone line.
Sadly, our Verizon line is dying. It's a natural death. Old age. There has been a buzz in the line for several months. We have complained to Verizon and been visited by many service people attempting to fix the annoying background noise. Recently, we heard the sad news. The old copper wire telephone lines are corroding and will not be replaced. The only option will be the fiber-optic cable line that brings us cable TV and Internet.
I read recently that between twenty-five and thirty percent of households use cell phones exclusively. The way of the future?