The number of landline telephones (POTS) is on the decline in the U.S., which is bad news for the likes of AT&T and Verizon since they still depend on their landline business for much of their total revenue.
Take AT&T, which gets a whopping 32 percent of its total revenue from POTS. The latest numbers from the FCC show that there’s 163 million landlines in the U.S. as of June, 2007, compared to 262 million wireless subscribers. As more and more people ditch their landline for whatever reason—no need for it anymore, crappy economy necessitates cost-cutting, etc.—these companies have to come up with ways to offset the loss.
That’s part of the reason why you’re paying what you’re paying for text messages.
Fact: I haven’t had a landline for about three years now. Why would you at this point?