While smartphones and cellphones, in general, have become widespread, the traditional landline phone is still found in many homes. There are many reasons you could want a home phone. You may prefer taking phone calls at home. You may want a phone number not reliant on you remembering to charge your cellphone, or you may want a number that, when people call it, won’t ring you when you are at work or driving. No matter your reasoning, landline phones still have a role to play, even with the growth of cellular services. However, while landline phones are a well-established technology, there are trends and changes in how the service is delivered and how you interact with it.
Four Home Phone Trends
- Technological Changes: one of the most notable trends in home phone use is a change in the technology behind it. Traditional copper line phones have declined in use for many years for homeowners. However, a VoIP service offers the same voice quality and features you expect from a landline phone. Many providers offer services beyond what you can get from a traditional carrier. Also, in most cases, you can still use the same phone you did before.
- Virtual Assistants: a trend to watch with interest is the development of A.I. Assistants for VoIP phone services. These assistants are becoming more commonplace, found on smartphones and several other examples of consumer technology. These assistants will serve the role of an operator, providing you with the information you need.
- Easier Number Porting: porting cellular phone numbers is a common activity. However, it is only now seeing wider adoption among VoIP service providers. This will make keeping your home phone number with you far easier and allow you to move it to different service providers.
- Increased Implementation of Video: the use of video chat platforms has steadily grown in the business world, filtering down to home services. In the future, you will have the option to add video features to your home phone line by adding additional hardware. While this will not be a requirement, the option to make your home phone more diverse in what it can do is certainly appealing.
Final Thoughts
A landline has been a part of homes for over 100 years. While technology has changed and the phones have improved, the basic purpose of using your phone to communicate has not changed. While much has been written about the end of the traditional landline, VoIP service offers an affordable and versatile solution for your home phone needs.