A landline telephone or fixed line is a telephone service given to a person via cable. This could be both metal conductors or optical fibre. This wire originates from a telephone company and connects to a distribution point in the exchange area and through a single cable reaches each subscriber. Today, you can have wireless connections also. Within the premises of the customer, one can have both wired connection or wireless/cordless telephone. Wired telephones do not require electricity.
In India, there was a transition from landline to the pager to mobile phones over a period of time. The late 1970’s and early 1980’s was the time when the telephone became an important equipment in Indian households. Once the telephone was booked, it would take many months, sometimes years before the actual connection was received.
Once received, it was a celebration of sorts. You had neighbours and friends pop in just to make one urgent call. The local telephone serviceman became a very important figure.
There were issues – cable would break, the line would have static or the telephone instrument itself had issues. If we had to make a call outside their city/town, we had to book the call with the Exchange. The Exchange, sometimes, would tell us the time period within which the call would come. The wait could become indefinite. We could not move out of the house till the call was over. The waiting became excruciating at times. Finally the call would be connected and then maybe, disconnected. Wait again. It definitely taught patience and perseverance.
Over a period of time, STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling) service was introduced. We could directly dial the person in another city/town by using a STD code prior to the number. We had huge telephone directories (updated once in 2-3 years) sometimes running into 3 volumes and could find the number of a person if the name was known.
This was further extended to International Calling. We did not have to depend on the Telephone Exchange for calling. The biggest relief was that we did not have to wait for the connection to be made by the Exchange.
A person going out of the house had to call their homes. This was enabled through STD booths (telephone booths) at every street corner. A huge relief since anybody outside the house could call up and inform their status. STD booths also served those who did not want to get the STD service for their phones at home. How it worked? We could go to the booth, drop in Re.1 at a time for local calls and speak for specified period (typically, a minute). For extending the time, add 1 more Rupee. For STD calls the amount was different. This varied over many years.
Though many households have switched out of landlines, there are many who still prefer it to the mobile. One, nobody can bother you when you are outside the house. Second, it is restricted to a particular place within the house. You cannot run around peering into the phone all over the house. Third and probably, the biggest benefit, the clarity of the line (if there was no static). Mobiles have their own advantages and disadvantages. The sense of safety that one gets while carrying a mobile and the fact that you can communicate to a person who has gone outside the house is the biggest advantage. However, each has its own charm.
My take: Both have their place in our lives. Using both judiciously might be the best option.
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