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@morbiuswilters said:@j6cubic said:Might have to do with the fact that people are only going to have time for a sales talk when they're at home – and then they can use the home number anyway.It's more and more common in the US to not have a landline. Personally, I have never had landline phone service, only cellular. I think something like half of people now only have cell service, but don't quote me on that. It's more and more common in the Netherlands too, but most people I know want an ADSL internet connection, so that's why they have a landline. Cable internet most often means that the person doesn't have a landline because cellular is cheaper.@j6cubic said:Also, landline-to-mobile is usually more expensive than landline-to-landline (home plans, of course; don't know how it's for business clients).That's a bit odd, although it might be the same case in the US (just not so straightforward). Landline billing in the US typically has 3 parts: local, inter-exchange and long distance. Inter-exchange may be the rate used for calling a local cellular number from a landline, depending on the carriers involved. Non-local billing in the US is actually quite a complex fuckaree, so there may be more involved than just this. Might have something to do with the free incoming calls in Europe. It might also have something to do with the size of the US: remember that the US has the scale of Europe, and calling between european countries is way too expensive (with Vodaphone I pay 1 euro starting costs on all calls in a foreign country, and that doesn't go on my 'free' minutes). Calling to mobile phones is a bit cheaper than 'long-distance' (EU-EU country). @j6cubic said:Not having to pay for incoming is very useful to homeless people – a cheap mobile with a prepaid card can go a long way and you are much more likely to get at least some kind of job when you have a phone number.The homeless people who sit on the sidewalk in front of my building begging for change and trying to sell "oxycontin" pills that look suspiciously like Advil are frequently talking on the cellphone. The best, though, had to be the couple of homeless people sitting around a laptop listening to iTunes.I remember the 'homeless' guy that used to limp with his leg on the train station, and walking perfectly normal otherwise. And the overheard phone conversation that he got 300 euro's a day!.