Fear is the tool in new AT&T campaign to make sure you have a landline

Better not ditch that landline -- or if you already have, get a new one before it's too late!

That's the scary message courtesy of AT&T, coincidentally one of the most dominant players in the wireless market. What the? They're not suggesting you dump your cell phone.

Like arch rival Verizon, the telecom giant also dominates the land-line market. And as wireless has become a more reliable option -- and the obvious choice if you going to have one or the other -- the number of wireless-only households has grown.

Nearly one in five U.S. homes don't have a landline, making what was once a given into a growth opportunity. So, how do you convince someone who has decided they don't need a home phone anymore to get one? Fear, of course.