As AT&T phases out support for traditional landlines among select customer bases, the telecommunications giant will transition to more cutting-edge technologies.

Some individuals appear hesitant to abandon traditional landline technology. Shopper advocates argue that seniors and those unfamiliar with using mobile phones and smartphones should still have access to landline options, ensuring equal opportunities for communication. Those who are better off with landlines include individuals who cannot afford cell service and people living in rural areas without access to cell service.

commenced offering landline services in 1885. By the 1930s, AT&T had established a virtual monopoly on telecommunications, controlling a staggering 80% of the phones in operation across the United States at that time. Currently, the agency provides landline service in 21 states, excluding certain areas within the northeastern and northwestern regions that no longer utilize its landline services. The decision to eliminate landlines will significantly impact nearly every state in the country, with one notable exception: California. 

By the late 1990s, cell phone service started replacing traditional landline connections in homes. Although some businesses still rely on landlines, a mere 5% of households currently utilize landline services today. The service started offering cellular connectivity in the 1980s. I remember having to enter a country code before dialing a number on my mobile phone back then.

As the smartphone’s popularity soared, it has become an essential, affordable, and remarkably adaptable communication tool, revolutionizing the way people connect with one another. As a result, landline subscriptions persisted in decline, with the ominous signs of obsolescence increasingly apparent.

As of today’s declaration, the clock ticks away at just five years before ‘s landline service, once the pinnacle of innovative technology that enabled seamless communication across vast distances, comes to a close. Who is aware of? By 2163, someone may already be chronicling the demise of mobile technology as we know it, marking the end of an era that began with the first flip phones and evolved through touchscreen wonders like iPhones and Android devices.