A Detailed Overview of Landline Phones

A landline is a telephone line which is directed through optical fiber or metal wire and transmitted via radio waves. A landline is a fixed phone service which can be both wireless and hard-wired. This is actually a physical connection established between two telecommunications machine. Land phones are generally referred to as “telephones”. In 2008, almost 1,270,000,000 fixed landlines existed all around the world.

The ringer of the phone is connected through a “capacitor”. This device allows the flow of AC current and restricts the flow of the DC current. Calls which are not under the local telephone exchange are forwarded with the help of the “trunk” lines. These connections are established between various exchanges. The exchange codes are different for different regions.

Advantages of a Landline Connection

Landline connections were the first to carry forward the telecommunications system. Though the usage of landline services are slowly decreasing but there are several advantages involved which are often overlooked. Take a look at the following attributes to find out more-

• One of the biggest benefits of land lines is battery backup. The battery meter of a cell phone has a risk of dying away. But in case of a land phone it is not quite possible. The battery life often varies and this is really often frustrating. But you can access a land phone even when there is a power cut. Therefore during emergency you don’t have to worry about a “low charge” indicator. 

• Signal receptivity is often a hindrance in most cellular services. This is because network developments are not the same in all regions. This causes the connection to die away even during your peak talking hours. This type of a problem is hardly valid for a land line connection.

• Subscribers of a land phone connection enjoys several privileges. One of which is the phone directory. This directory is provided by the phone company free of cost. In fact this phone book can also be accessed over the Internet in the company website. A phone directory is a handy book which renders quick help for finding the name, address and phone numbers of an individual, company, institutions, emergency offices, shops, retail stores, public safety offices and other offices of other services.

• If you miss out a call you can easily get the message through a voice mail setup. Moreover if you are reluctant to receive a particular call you can simply let the phone ring and the message of the caller will be automatically recorded in your land phone set. Therefore the risk of missing out on calls, do not exist anymore.

• Having a landline connection calls for a greater level of security. This is because the signals are transmitted with the help of physical cables. Unless a person has any control over the cables, your calls will not be shared or hacked. This system makes the land phone service more safe and private which is rare in case of a cell phone. You can protect your data further by encryption.

Disadvantages of a Landline Connection

The land phone subscriptions are highly challenged by the multi-facilitated cell phones or mobile phones. There are basically several reasons that support the popularity of call phones. The telephones are disadvantageous for the following reasons:

• Facilities like camera, mp3 player can’t be enjoyed
• Landline phones are less mobile and handy
• Missed call, dialed calls, received calls are accounted in details in cell phones
• Memory capacities of landline phones are not expandable
• Message services and multimedia message are not provided by land phones
• Other tools like calendar, alarm and reminder are also not provided
• You can’t make conference calls through landline connections

Specific Landline Service Providers:

AT&T

Ameritech

Verizon