Buy and Cell
Does anyone still use landlines?
I have several kids in college right now, in apartments. It didn't even cross their minds to get phones installed, because they use their cellphones. It's easier with billing and they don't have the sharing problem with roommates. I have a landline, but I don't use it often. More and more, I use my cellphone.
What's this mean in the long run? Well, it's clearly a blow to the gut for the telcos. Even more so, it indicates social change in the offing. Everyone becomes accessible. It's not completely true now, primarily because the directory and filtering systems are disfunctional. How do you publish your number and avoid cell spam? Spam is the unhealthy result of widespread, low-cost communications. For now on, any time that you invent a new digital communication device, spam will pop up, like mold.
A good idea for a startup company would fix this problem early. Some kind of mechanism whereby every cell number was published, but the recipient could screen selectively and easily, without being rude, and only let certain calls go through, rerouting other calls to one of a series of relevant messages or possibly forwarding to someone who is more appropriate to the call.
Posted on August 24, 2006