'I decided to get rid of my telephone landline' - Column

This was not a choice made lightly.

It took years of prevarication to warm to the idea.

Even then I promised myself I would get it back if I really missed it.

The results of my experiment? Read on and see if this rings any bells for you.

The obvious benefit was cost - it was cheaper not to have a landline contract.

Like most of us, I was already paying for a mobile phone.

I had been telling myself that at no point in my life had I ever been in a position where I didn't have a phone that people could ring me up on… that was fixed to the wall. For some reason this seemed to be important.

Mind you, for most of my life mobile phones didn't even exist. Now they do, so paying for both seemed an indulgence.

Another line of thinking was safety and security.

What if the mobile signal fails?

That one was dismissed when I worked out that it had probably been 20 years since I had owned a landline phone that didn't need to be plugged into the mains - either to power an answerphone or a cordless handset.

Yes, kids, I really am that old.

So if the power failed, my landline would be useless anyway.

Admittedly, I am lucky enough to live in a part of the Island with an excellent mobile phone signal.

There are areas where this is a far more significant concern - and of course those apocryphal tales of mobiles on the south of the Island mysteriously roaming onto French network providers when the weather conditions are right.

If you are in one of those locations you will be better off keeping your traditional telephone - you might need it.

But for me, and most Islanders, that is not an issue.

My conclusion, after two years, is that I would never go back.

Being without a landline isn't for everyone, but it certainly works for me.

There was one final question that made me decide to cut the cord for good.

If you're amongst the ageing minority of people still hanging on to their landlines, I would urge you to ask yourself this just as I did.

Who benefits from me having a landline phone?

I'll tell you who. The answer is scammers, spammers and people trying to sell you things you don't want.

The people who you know and love already know your mobile phone number, and they're happy to use it.

If your line is like mine was, then almost every day the phone will ring with some sketchy caller trying to get you to give them access to your computer, sell you some dubious compensation scheme, or make an emergency bank transfer.

None of them real, all of them using up your time and brainspace with their pestering.

I dismissed them all by cancelling my landline, and so can you.