It's been a trend for a while now - people ditching their home phone landlines in favor of using their cellphone all the time. As plans got cheaper and included more minutes, it became even more possible to do so, and the cost of a landline started looking like an unnecessary expense. Some were forced to keep in in order to get cheaper internet via DSL rather than cable, but in acquiring BellSouth AT&T agreed to start offering "naked" DSL...that is, DSL without required landline service. That offer can be found here.

I think the news from the last couple of days will help to increase this trend...first Verizon and then AT&T announced unlimited calling plans, both for $99/month.

The announcements were kind of a surprise (AT&T made their announcement just 5 hours after Verizon's), especially since the rumor was that Sprint would be the first to make a move to an all-unlimited plan:

There had been speculation that Sprint would introduce a nationwide unlimited plan. In May, it introduced one to residents of Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Tampa, Fla., and parts of Northern California and Western Nevada. Sprint's plan costs $119.99 a month, and includes unlimited Web use, e-mail and messaging, which Verizon Wireless' and AT&T's plans do not.

Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins said Sprint "fumbled at the goal line" and let Verizon Wireless get ahead of it in improving customer perception. He called it a surprising move for Verizon Wireless, which has previously used its image as a quality provider to charge higher rates.

Sprint spokeswoman Emmy Anderson said the company is looking at how well the offer is doing in the trial areas, and hasn't announced any plan to take it nationwide.

$100 a month may seem like a lot, but given how much cell phone plans can cost for a limited number of minutes, combined with the monthly cost of a landline, it's easy to see that this would likely be a better deal.