land lines

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45K Verizon Workers Strike
 45K Verizon Workers Strike 

45K Verizon Workers Strike

Telecom wants cutbacks, but workers say company still profitable

(Newser) - About 45,000 Verizon workers from the landline side of the telecom's mid-Atlantic and northeast regions went on strike today, the first such walkout in 11 years, reports the Wall Street Journal . Verizon is seeking concessions from its two major unions in the face of declining landline revenues, thanks...

Horrific Cell Phone Calls Are About to Get Crystal Clear

Thanks, in part, to 4G

(Newser) - Cell phone quality keeps improving—the apps! the sleek design!—in every area except one: voice quality. For those who have been plagued by infuriating things like annoying delays that cause both people on the call to talk at the same time, take heart, writes Scott Woolley at Fortune...

Why I Love My Land Line
 Why I Love 
 My Land Line 
OPINION

Why I Love My Land Line

Because I can actually talk on it

(Newser) - That smartphone can text, email, navigate, surf, organize, amuse, and waste time indefinitely. But the one thing it sucks at? Actual phone calls, writes Stephen Randall in an LA Times requiem for the land line, which "sits like a weird dusty antique on my desk. It won't let me...

Don't Trust Any Poll That Omits Cellphones
Don't Trust Any Poll That Omits Cellphones
Nate Silver

Don't Trust Any Poll That Omits Cellphones

They're ignoring 25% of the populace

(Newser) - Yeah, it's expensive, but pollsters need to start calling cellphones. According to the latest CDC data, 23% of US adults, or 25% of US households are cellphone-only, writes Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com . Add in “cellphone-mostly” households and that jumps to 40%—and it could be even higher by...

Straighten Out Your Finances in 2010
 Straighten Out 
 Your Finances 
 in 2010 
resolutions

Straighten Out Your Finances in 2010

Some simple moves can net $1K or more

(Newser) - On the eve of the first serious workday of the New Year, take a hard look at your finances and see where you can cut back in 2010. A relatively small investment in time can result in some serious savings, Kathy Kristof writes for the Los Angeles Times :
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Bye-Bye Landlines, Hello New Problem
 Bye-Bye Landlines, 
 Hello New Problem 
analysis

Bye-Bye Landlines, Hello New Problem

(Newser) - Americans are gleefully dropping landlines at a rate of 700,000 per month without any regard for the long-term consequences, the Economist says. Few of us will weep for businesses that rely on landlines—telemarketers and pollsters come to mind—but emergency services like fire and police also need them....

Too Many Phone Numbers? Google Can Help
Too Many Phone Numbers? 
Google Can Help
tech review

Too Many Phone Numbers? Google Can Help

Promising new free service handles access to all your devices

(Newser) - One phone number for home, two more for work, another for your mobile—Google Voice aims to change that. The new free service, which gives you one internet-based number that dials all your phones, "will take years to reach its full potential," but it looks promising, Hiawatha Bray...

20% of Americans Drop Landline for Cell: Study

20% of households only use cell phones

(Newser) - As Americans trim their spending, more are getting rid of landlines. In the second half of last year, 20% of households had only cell phones, outnumbering for the first time the 17% who had just landlines. The 3% jump from the first half of 2008 is the largest increase since...

Amid Cell Boom, Colleges Yank Land Lines

Cell phones have rendered costly phone lines unnecessary

(Newser) - US colleges are ripping phone lines out of dorms—and not to encourage students to study, the San Jose Mercury News reports. It’s recognition that mobile phones have become as ubiquitous as textbooks among students. “Demand has dropped, and it’s a costly service,” says an official...

Wireless Drives AT&T Growth
 Wireless Drives AT&T Growth 
earnings report

Wireless Drives AT&T Growth

Company posts 22% increase in net income for Q1 despite dip in landline earnings

(Newser) - AT&T posted a 22% increase in net income during the first quarter, thanks to strong growth in its wireless unit. Its wireless earnings nearly doubled, while landline earnings dropped 2.1%. The company’s net income was $3.46 billion (57 cents a share), compared to $2.85 billion...

AT&T's 4Q Numbers Bolstered by Cell Sales

Other operations lagging behind

(Newser) - AT&T's quarterly numbers indicate strong wireless sales, the Wall Street Journal reports, though unimpressive figures from its landline and Internet divisions have left some analysts and investors concerned. AT&T enjoyed a quarterly revenue of $3.14 billion—up from $1.94 billion this time last year—bolstered by...

Cell Bills Trump Land Line Charges for 1st Time

Americans have 250M mobiles, 170M home lines

(Newser) - US households racked up bigger cellphone than land line bills in 2007 for the first time ever, analysts say. Only 6 years ago, households spent three times more on residential phone bills than on mobiles, a disparity that shrank to an average difference of only $28 by 2006. Now, with...

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