I grew up with a landline telephone located in a prominent location in the kitchen. My parents had a phone on one of their nightstands.

I no longer remember where my landlines were located as an adult. Probably similar locations.

One day people won’t know what to do with the wall mount on the right. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

One thing in my current kitchen I would like to remove is the wall jack for a landline. It will never be used by us and probably not by any future owner. It probably wasn’t used by the first owners who were here a couple years before us.

It’s not so much the ugliness of it that bothers me, but it some ways I feel like it dates the house to an era that is long gone.

I’m not alone in not having a landline. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2022 found only 29 percent of adults in the U.S. had a landline. In 2004 that number was 90 percent.

We all have cell phones now.

Sure, people live in areas where cell reception is poor. When cell service goes down landlines often still work. I might be able to reach 911, but who else if everyone’s cell phones are down?

The ability to have a landline isn’t going away. In June, the California Public Utilities Commission told AT&T it still had to provide the service to people who had no other option.

California Civil Code Section 1941.4 mandates landlords of residential rentals must install “at least one usable telephone jack ….”

Custom builds do not require a phone jack, but all other houses seem to still have them. I know, a minor issue, but it beats talking about politics.