Bye-bye Phone Book

It’s another sign of the electronic times, but we shouldn’t be that surprised that the printed phone book white pages are on their way out. According to a story in the EDSF Report newsletter, a Gallup poll in 2008 found only 10% of folks counted on the white pages as their primary reference source for finding phone numbers. That’s down from 25% in 2005. New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania regulators have already given Verizon permission to discontinue printing the white pages and Virginia is poised to do the same. Telecommunications companies in 12 other states have petitioned for permission to cease printing the white pages. Verizon and AT&T will offer electronic listings or a CD phone book. A printed copy will be provided only if requested. AT&T said only 2% of people chose the printed option when offered those choices. The demise of the printed white pages can be attributed to several things, including Internet phone listings and number storing functions on telephones and mobile phones. There is also the fact that landline telephones are disappearing at the rate of 10% a year and mobile phone numbers have never been listed in the white pages. I can’t remember the last time I used the white pages to find a phone number. That said, with all my frequently called numbers stored in my mobile phone, I would be up the creek without a paddle if the device stopped working. About the only phone number I can remember off the top of my head is the main number for Cygnus, from whence comes my livelihood.