Facts and Figures

[andrewducker]

Interesting to note that more people have a mobile for personal use (95%) than a landline (78%).

40% of people use VOIP/Skype.

And mobile use is now the norm (66% -> 28%)

If the trend continues then landlines will exist in the UK only because BT insist you have a phoneline if you have ADSL.  And even then it looks very much like they'll only be "phone lines" up to the exchange - and it's all digital from that point onwards.

Comments

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

You can rent the line from companies other than BT, but as far as I know they all give you a telephone service too.

ADSL is essentially a new service tacked onto an existing distribution system, one originally designed to distribute telephone calls. We still need a physical wire coming into our house to get ADSL. The costs of providing a telephone service must be tiny compared to the cost of installing that wire and maintaining the infrastructure.

I doubt we would see much saving were the service offered limited to internet access only.

[andrewducker]

Oh, we probably wouldn't save a huge amount - but it might make them a bit clearer about their charging structure. £6 for a connection of any kind and then services layered on top of that (for instance). And even if the cost of providing a phone service is only a couple of quid a month that's still a saving.