Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

Dallas Morning News

As land-line use falls, phone companies aren't ready to pull the plug

Providing plain old voice telephone service was a profitable and growing business for more than 100 years, but that run could be coming to an end.

Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst in Dallas with tech market research firm Parks Associates, said there's no question that land-line voice is a shrinking business. But it still has value, he said. Scherf noted that, for all his tech savvy, he still hasn't dumped his land-line phone, as making long-distance cellphone-to-cellphone calls is still an exercise in dropped calls and crummy quality.

"I think it would be really tough for them to completely walk away from that business," he said. "If it's just not bleeding them dry to continue to provide that service, then I could see them holding on to it."

From the article, "As land-line use falls, phone companies aren't ready to pull the plug" by Victor Godinez

Previously In The News

Will Apple Pay be mobile pay’s kick-start?

If anyone can get us to use our smartphones as wallets, it’s Apple. That’s what experts think about the launch this week of Apple Pay, the first mobile wallet to work on an iPhone. Two prev...

Demise of unlimited plans to make cellphone data tracking a challenge

The biggest change coming to the wireless world is the end of monthly plans that let you download as much Internet data as you please. And that's happening just as Apple and others roll out a host o...

Apple TV blasts big volley at cable, satellite, telecom providers

While other tech companies are attempting similar assaults, the $99 Apple TV set-top box coming out later this month is the most high-profile effort yet to topple the traditional cable, satellite an...

Smart phones and tablets becoming video game machines

But those types of blood-and-guts, in-depth titles are the exception rather than the rule on smart phones and tablets, said Pietro Macchiarella, a research analyst who tracks the video game industry...