In the Mobile Era, Why Do People Have Home Phones? Survey Says It’s Mostly for Safety and Security

Sunnyvale, CA - Thursday, September 26th, 2019

Ooma, Inc., a smart communications platform for businesses and consumers, today announced results of a survey on why people value their home phones. The survey of 1,000 adults in the United States, sponsored by Ooma, found that safety and security are the primary reasons an estimated 40 percent of U.S. families – some 51 million households – continue to have a landline.

Mobile phones don’t meet all home communications needs, with the top reasons cited by survey respondents for keeping landlines:

• 31% said their home phone is always on and available during an emergency, while many people mute their mobile phones at night
• 30% said they’ve always had a home phone and many people value their home phone number
• 29% said there are situations where they prefer giving out a home phone number rather than their personal mobile number
• 24% said they appreciate having multiple phone handsets that ring throughout the house
• 21% said they like knowing that 911 emergency calls always work on a landline
• 18% said they value that traditional landlines typically work during power outages

Contrary to popular assumptions, landline phones aren’t gathering dust – the survey, conducted in early September by 3GEM Research, found 70 percent of landline customers make or receive more than five calls per week. Almost half (45%) make or receive more than 10 calls per week.

Landlines remain crucial for calling 911 during emergencies, providing the home’s street address to first responders even if callers can’t speak or don’t know their exact location. Half (48%) of survey respondents said they have made at least one 911 call. The top reasons for calling 911:

• 59% – medical emergency
• 35% – criminal activity
• 22% – weather emergency (storms, floods, etc.)
• 19% – domestic violence
• 18% – fire

Yet landlines, especially traditional copper-wire phone service, are expensive, with 61% of survey respondents paying $20 a month or more. A third (32%)  pay $40 a month or more. When presented with a list of benefits in switching to voice over internet (VoIP) home phone service, respondents wanted the following features most:

• 39% – lower monthly cost
• 37% – robocall blocking
• 34% – service during power failures
• 29% – unlimited nationwide calling
• 26% – reliable 911 service

Ooma offers home phone service that delivers all the benefits of the internet – affordability and advanced features – while eliminating the downsides of worrying about power failures or 911 access. Ooma Telo 4G (https://www.ooma.com/home-phone-service/residential-voip-phone-with-4g-internet-service/) at $129.99 is a bundle that combines the Ooma Telo base station for internet-based home phone service, a lithium-ion backup battery for uninterrupted service during power outages and the Ooma 4G Adapter for connecting to the internet through a wireless 4G LTE connection provided by Sprint.

Among the features offered to all Ooma Telo subscribers are unlimited nationwide calling, voicemail, call waiting, caller ID and E911 service. The optional Ooma Premier service plan offers more advanced features, including multi-level robocall blocking, voicemail-to-email forwarding, a second phone number and a mobile app for calling on the go.

The backup battery and Ooma 4G Adapter give Ooma Telo 4G customers peace of mind in knowing their home phone service will continue even when electricity or home internet goes down. Ooma Telo 4G can also be used in locations where home internet service is either unavailable or unreliable.

Home phone service is free with Ooma; customers only pay taxes and fees (typically $4 to $6 a month). The 4G Premium wireless internet connection plan is $11.99 a month, for a total monthly cost under $20. This means the upfront purchase price of Ooma Telo 4G will be covered in less than seven months for anyone switching from a traditional landline priced at $40 a month or more. Ooma Premier service is $9.99 per month.

“Millions of families still find value in home phone service for a variety of reasons, as clearly shown by the results of our survey,” said Jim Gustke, vice president of marketing at Ooma. “The good news is that internet-based products such as Ooma Telo 4G now offer the best of both worlds, combining the safety and security of traditional landlines with the affordability and advanced features of VoIP.”