Remember the days of landlines? While there are several still in use to this day, just take a look at this year’s phone book.

What you will notice is the number of white pages has diminished substantially due to a decrease in the number of landlines.

That’s because just about everyone has a cellphone, and that extra bill made people consider why they still had a landline.

Cutting that extra bill came with additional perks. Cellphones are portable, meaning so long as you have a signal anyone can contact you at any time. That aspect could also be listed in the “con” category.

But one of the major pros of cutting the cord was that telemarketers couldn’t call you on a cellphone. That’s since changed.

From time to time I get a call from an out-of-state number. Knowing I shouldn’t answer, curiosity gets the better of me.

Immediately I regret my decision, hanging up upon the realization that the person on the other end wants to sell me something.

I speculate that they have gotten my number from one of the many stores that want to give me a special discount card, for the price of my personal information, phone number included.

The long and short of it all, is one of the major advantages to disconnecting home phone service is now gone.

And while Mississippi offers a Do Not Call Registry, I still get unwanted calls to my cell from time to time. Thankfully, the frequency has diminished.

According to the Clarion Ledger, more than 100,000 Mississippians registered for the same service, but there’s a list of people or agencies that can still attempt to contact you.

Those people and agencies include licensed real estate agents, insurance agents, car dealerships, charitable organizations  and certain financial institutions, just to name a few.

So, if you haven’t registered your cellphone yet, you still can by visiting www.psc.state.ms.us.