Wireless Households

New statistics were released this week in the United States on household landline use. Reports say don’t bother trying to call approximately 30% of US households on a landline, because they don’t have one. And the number of wireless-only households is growing: currently 14% have wireless service with no landline service at all.

Household. Hogar.
Landline. Teléfono fijo
Wireless. Inalámbrico


I remember the “old days” when we had just one landline telephone at home. The model de rigueur when I was a kid was the AT&T Trimline. We had a white one that hung on the wall in the kitchen. This wasn’t a problem until I reached the age when I wanted a little privacy when gabbing with my girlfriend. Fortunately, the phone was equipped with a long cord (many families would retrofit their telephones with super-long cords that allowed for more “privacy”). This allowed me to wrap the cord around the kitchen corner and take the phone into the basement. Voila! Instant privacy.















To gab. Cotorrear
Cord. Cable
To retrofit. Modernizar, actualizar un equipo


Soon afterwards, my sister and brother -both younger than me- needed the phone to talk to their friends too. With three teenagers constantly tying up the line, having just one phone in our house meant that the kitchen doubled as the household communication center. And those were the days before answering machines and call waiting. It’s a wonder any messages were left at all!


To tie up. Ocupar
To double as. Tener dos usos
Call waiting. Llamada en espera

Published by: Drew Crosby