A report by a market research firm says that while there has been an increase in consumers replacing their landline entirely, there aren’t many signs that people are ready to abandon plain old telephone service (POTS) completely for their cell phones. The Boston-based Yankee Group says 6 percent of U.S. consumers have replaced their POTS with cell phones, up 4 percent from 2003.

The growth of landline switching has been spurred on by a new FCC policy that went nationwide last May 24 that allowed cell phone customers to keep their phone numbers when switching carriers and also allowed them to transfer their traditional landline phone number to a cell phone.

Alarm users may not be aware that switching their landline number or service to cellular service will sever their alarm system’s connection with a central station.

Yankee Group analyst Linda Barrabee told the San Antonio Express-News that cellular is a long way from replacing traditional phone lines until coverage improves. “People expect their communications service to have a certain level of reliability,” Barrabee said. “There’s still the perception that landlines are more reliable, especially in emergency situations.”

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