We’ve been toying with the idea of getting rid of our apartment phone for quite some time. Today, being the nerd I am, decided to investigate just how much (or little) we use our land line. We’re paying about 35 bucks a month for a phone that allows us unlimited incoming and outgoing local calls. Long distance is of course extra.







Taking a quick look at our caller ID, which stores the date of the last 100 phone calls received, I was able to plot the number of calls received per day since the beginning of the year. Adding a regression line quickly tells me that we’re averaging less than one incoming phone call per day.



What does this mean? Assuming we make one outgoing phone call per day (and in reality its much less, closer to two or three outgoing calls a week), we’re still paying over 50 cents for every call the phone is used for. At that rate, it’s cheaper to get a pay phone installed in our apartment.



Four guys who work 40+ hours a week, all with one or more cell phones, don’t have a need for another phone that goes mostly unused. The only time I can see this not making sense would be if one of us spent extended amount of time on non-toll calls (i.e. incoming calls or outgoing local calls), which we do not.



Phone and DSL being cancelled March 1. Cable guy coming to hookup cable modem March 1.

• current monthly cost of phone, cable, and broadband Internet access per month, on average: $170


• new cost of cable and broadband Internet access (no phone, plus discounts) per month, on average: $105

What does this mean to the rest of you? Nothing, as I don’t think anyone, myself included, knows our current apartment phone number.