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David Elbert, the Business Editor at the Des Moines Register reported on the state of telephone service in Iowa in this morning’s paper:Cell Phone X-Ray

A new study by the Iowa Utilities Board shows that as of last June 30, there were 1,943,334 wireless phone connections in Iowa, compared with 1,483,814 wired connections.

This was bound to happen once cell phone pricing reached commodity levels.  Look for the wired connections in Iowa and throughout the country to drop dramatically in the next 5 years.  My wife actually came to me with this story and asked if we should consider changing our phone situation (we’re considering it).

I know a few people that have managed to live “off the [land-line] grid” rather successfully.  The great things about going with only a cell phone include:

  1. If I move, my phone number stays the same
  2. I can be reached pretty much anywhere, anytime with one phone number
  3. Since cell phone numbers are not as readily available to tele-marketers, I don’t get so many sales calls
  4. Since cell phone numbers are not as readily available to charities and political parties, I don’t get so many of those calls either
  5. I don’t have to worry about my room-mate/spouse/other family member/etc forgetting a phone message
  6. Since I would have a cell phone any way, no reason pay extra for a land-line

Of course, with the numbers shifting the way they are, we can look forward to massive white-paging of cell-phone numbers during the next few years as well.  Mark my words.

And every step of this will be accompanied by myriads of conspiracy theories… stuff you and I can’t even make up, I’m sure.

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