This week's cellphone outage makes it clear: In the United States, landlines are languishing

In a Saturday Nov. 12, 2011 photo, rows of old and newer telephones along with office switchboards are in the museum operated by members of the Parkersburg Council of the Telecomm Pioneers in Parkersburg, W.Va. As Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, cell phone outage shows, sometimes landline telephones can come in handy, and were suggested as part of the alternatives when people's cell phones weren't working. (]Jeffery Saulton/News and Sentinel via AP)