nospam wrote:
In article , Rene Lamontagne
wrote:

I do not nor ever plan to own a cell phone. I have no need nor desire.
Closest "free" wi-fi hotspot for me is larger town which is almost an
hour away.
you're the lone exception, and an hour away is not far at all.

https://www.engadget.com/2007/06/19/...ifi-distance-r
ecord-237-miles/
WiFi's flame burns on in Latin America, however, where researcher
Ermanno Pietrosemoli has managed to shoot an 802.11 signal 382
kilometers (237 miles) between two mountains in the Venezuelan Andes
He certainly is NOT the lone exception, Myself, My son and at least two
friends do not own and will probably never buy a cell phone.

meanwhile, more than 2 *billion* smartphones are in use.

In areas where the infrastructure is different and
there are fewer choices.

Just recently, two Indian brothers got into a price war
on telecommunications services, until one of the brothers
declared bankruptcy. And that's a place you'd want
that cell of yours. That kind of price war isn't coming
here any time soon.

I don't own a cellphone/smartphone either. I do use VOIP,
because it's cheaper than the $55 per month they expect
here for a landline.

Paul