Do you still use your landline at home to make calls – or are you one of the growing number happy to rely on a mobile?
In our house, it sometimes seems that the only calls we get on our landline these days are from people trying to sell us something or fool us into falling for some scam.
Could it be that the personal phone call is really going the way of the personal handwritten letter?
It seems some households are starting to think this way.
The percentage of UK households with a landline has fallen gradually from 95% in 2000 to 88% in 2012, while the percentage of mobile-only homes rose from 10% in 2006 to 15% in the first quarter of 2015.
Of course that means the vast majority of us still have a home phone. But is it really little more than an ornament gathering dust?
Earlier this year, culture minister Ed Vaizey even suggested that householders signing up for broadband packages could be exempted from the rental charge on their landline if they don’t use it.
One in five homeowners don’t make fixed-line calls, but have to pay for landline connections.
The case for mobile phones
Those who love their mobile might point to their convenience and to the great variety of things you can do with them.
Mobiles phones have started to define the daily life of many, if not most, adults in the UK. We use them to plan out our days, weeks, months and years, to stay in contact, to browse the internet, and exchange goods and services. In short, they’ve become far more than just phones.
Not surprising then, that users worldwide are forecast to reach 4.77 billion by 2017.
The case for a landline
For a start, smartphones run out of battery incredibly quickly – landlines don’t. And you don’t have to update the landline phone’s software every other month in case its operating speed slows to a crawl.
Another factor that might save the landline from becoming a technical dinosaur is that most broadband providers use a copper wire telephone network to deliver an internet connection to your home. And this requires an active phone line.
Some people also like to keep a landline in case they need to make an emergency call and fear that their smartphone will have run out of batteries.
How often do you use your landline to make calls?
At least once a day (40%, 929 Votes)
A few times a week (33%, 778 Votes)
Rarely (20%, 474 Votes)
Never (6%, 130 Votes)
I don't have a landline (2%, 39 Votes)
Total Voters: 2,350
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Perhaps, the home phone is safe for now, but how often do you use yours? Has it had its day or do you find it’s still a vital lifeline?
