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Cellular quality and reception have been improving over the years, but they are nowhere near the quality of traditional telephones. There are still plenty of hiccups, static and small cutouts. Add to that the problems of busy networks, out-of-network zones and dropout issues. How often does your home telephone die in the middle of a conversation?

Some people may not realize the need for the 99.999 percent stability offered by the tried and true landline. As long as you pay your bill, your landline almost never goes out of network, so you can always dial 911. Would you really want to rely on a cell phone for your 911 needs -- especially considering there is no way for the emergency call center to know where you are calling from, unlike 911 calls from a landline? And cell phones are notorious for running out of battery life -- though the same is not true of traditional cordless phones; those last for days without a recharge.

Perhaps worst of all is cellular customer service. Problems with a phone line need to be addressed quickly, but for most cellular phone users I know, that is seldom the case. Two friends of mine were unable to get incoming calls for two weeks, despite multiple calls to their providers' help centers. That's unacceptable.

Which provider is the most stable? Well that's anybody's guess. We need reports of coverage areas, dropout rates, customer support times and reported billing errors from all the providers to be filed with the FCC. I'm sure the providers will fight intensely against this, but wouldn't it be nice to know whether VoiceStream, Verizon or Cingular has the most reliable network? The three days they give you before the one- or two-year contract kicks in is not enough time to determine stability. And if Jamie Lee is going to tell me to get rid of my home line, she better tell me VoiceStream offers 99.999 percent uptime.