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Original poster

Landlines - do I still need one?

60 replies

SlowHorses · 25/05/2022 14:47

Just that really.

Will be renegotiating our TV/phone/broadband package soon and got me wondering why we still have a landline. Never use it for outbound; hardly ever rings for inbound and everywhere important outside friends/family (like the doctors and school etc) have our mobile numbers anyway. I think we kept it last time as seemed so cheap to just leave it, but still a cost I guess.

So tell me what I’m missing if I just get rid of it and save some money, albeit a small amount.

OP posts:
nearlyspringyay · 25/05/2022 16:17

RisingSunn · 25/05/2022 15:57

I’ve decided to keep mine in case my young children (God forbid) ever needed to dial 999.

My children can access my phone and for some dangerous reason in terms of cash, their faces can unlock my iPhone

toastofthetown · 25/05/2022 16:18

I haven’t had a landline since I left my parents and I’m in my thirties now. I have a feeling that it might be bundled with broadband, but we don’t have a landline phone or any interest in getting one.

BarbaraofSeville · 25/05/2022 16:18

But what's the plan for people like us @Cervinia who can't rely on mobiles to make phone calls, during power cuts, or anyone for that matter, as I've seen people saying that if there's a widespread power cut, chances are that it will take out the mobile signal in the area anyway.

Our new line is VOIP and it came with dire warnings that we wouldn't be able to use it in a power cut and we'd need to have a charged mobile phone at the ready.

Seems very short sighted that people might be put in a position that they can't call for help because the most reliable analogue phone service is being discontinued. Or people who have monitoring systems that rely on a landline signal.

motogirl · 25/05/2022 16:21

We don't have a phone plugged in but the broadband comes through it (full fibre)

Onthegrid · 25/05/2022 16:23

We got rid of ours in 2 stages


  • Stage 1: did not replace the landline phone when it stopped holding charge. Repeated often to parents that we do not have access to that number any more. Plus monitored any incoming calls to see who else needed to be told, we hadn't made an outgoing call in years

  • Stage 2: Removed landline from our contract, wasn't a huge saving but in the current climate every saving helps.

DP are in their late 70s and have now embraced FaceTime, Whatsapp and having a mobile that is both charged and with them. It is about the only positive thing to come from the pandemic

TheWayoftheLeaf · 25/05/2022 16:23

I'm 27 and have never owned a landline bar my mums when I was a kid

CharSiu · 25/05/2022 17:06

I keep my landline because I live far from relatives and as much as it’s nice to FaceTime sometimes I do still call them and hate my teeny tiny mobile.

etulosba · 25/05/2022 17:14

DH insists we need it for broadband. We don't. It never rings.

He probably means the landline itself rather than the phone also connected to it.

BarbaraofSeville · 25/05/2022 17:26

etulosba · 25/05/2022 17:14

DH insists we need it for broadband. We don't. It never rings.

He probably means the landline itself rather than the phone also connected to it.

Exactly. I wonder how these 'I've not had a landline this century how old fashioned' types got internet into their house for most of that time where you'd certainly not be able to do things like game or use streaming services using mobile broadband before full fibre has become more widespread.

Whether they admit to it or not, it came in through a wire/cable attached to their property, aka 'a landline'.

NothingIsWrong · 25/05/2022 17:32

Our village has just been upgraded to fibre to the premises. We no longer have a landline, not that I used it for the 10 years prior, but we did need the incoming line to bring the extremely shitty internet.

LOVE fibre :-)

hattie43 · 25/05/2022 17:35

I haven't had a landline for as long as I can remember and don't miss it .

BrimFullOfAsher · 25/05/2022 17:59

For everything other than Virgin - Landline, yes. Home phone, no.

Vodafone provide the landline with no extra cost for their HBB packages though if you aren't staying with Virgin

idiotfacelicker · 25/05/2022 18:20

You can make emergency (999) calls on smartphones without unlocking (iPhone certainly, assume same with all makes as it's a key safety feature).

wobytide · 25/05/2022 18:31

As you are with Virgin make sure you check their package prices. Had looked today ready for the annual negotiating to leave ritual and for example 350Mb fibre is £36 a month whilst 350Mb with a phone line (even if you don't plug it in) is £32.

Seemed to be similar disparities for other speeds

DrDreReturns · 25/05/2022 18:40

I still use a landline phone as the mobile signal where I live is rubbish. I've lost count of the number of calls I've missed because there has been no signal, or they've cut out after a minute.
As pp said if you get broadband through a copper phone line you have a landline.

Cervinia · 26/05/2022 06:05

BarbaraofSeville · 25/05/2022 16:18

But what's the plan for people like us @Cervinia who can't rely on mobiles to make phone calls, during power cuts, or anyone for that matter, as I've seen people saying that if there's a widespread power cut, chances are that it will take out the mobile signal in the area anyway.

Our new line is VOIP and it came with dire warnings that we wouldn't be able to use it in a power cut and we'd need to have a charged mobile phone at the ready.

Seems very short sighted that people might be put in a position that they can't call for help because the most reliable analogue phone service is being discontinued. Or people who have monitoring systems that rely on a landline signal.

100% with you and one of the reasons I called up and cancelled mums change to full fibre because the provider was out of stock of the battery back up.

From what I gather there should be free battery back ups for vulnerable people in the event of a power cut, only I think it was under estimated how many were needed. I’ve deferred any upgrades to mums telephony until the right support is there.

Battery back up

Brahumbug · 26/05/2022 08:00

We got rid of the landline some time ago. The 4/5 signal is excellent and we use a MIFI router which gives speeds of around 120 to 160 megabytes. It costs about £20 a month for unlimited data. The other great thing is that it is completely mobile and we can take it with us on holiday, for example.

etulosba · 26/05/2022 08:20

The other great thing is that it is completely mobile and we can take it with us on holiday, for example.

We have things that need the internet while we are away, so that wouldn’t work for us.

Polyanne · 26/05/2022 08:22

Don’t you need one for the internet? We have one but I don’t plug a phone into it. We only have it for the internet.

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 26/05/2022 08:24

Have broadband
No phone-line.

DC know how to unlock our mobiles and call grandparents and emergency services. And how to use a phone box, not there is one anywhere near.

Trulyweird1 · 26/05/2022 08:26

Depends where you live. We have a landline and an old fashioned plug in phone , because we live in the Highlands and if the power goes out, so does the mobile, mast, any hands free phones which require electricity to charge, etc.

VOIP installation has been paused in our area as last winters storms and resulting power cuts left so many people without access to emergency calls.

ATadConfused · 26/05/2022 08:39

Brahumbug · 26/05/2022 08:00

We got rid of the landline some time ago. The 4/5 signal is excellent and we use a MIFI router which gives speeds of around 120 to 160 megabytes. It costs about £20 a month for unlimited data. The other great thing is that it is completely mobile and we can take it with us on holiday, for example.

@Brahumbug & anyone else who can advise...

Which mifi router did you get & who do you pay monthly for data?

I just looked up mifi routers and there are SO many, I don't know where to start.

currently fibre with Virgin, but so far it's been pretty crap since they swapped it over!

TIA

Brahumbug · 26/05/2022 08:58

The router is a Huawei router supplied by Three. The Three signal is excellent where we are, you need to check who has a strong signal in your area, otherwise you could end up with a poor service.

letsnotdothat · 26/05/2022 09:03

I haven’t had one since I left home, they just seem totally pointless to me.

essaytwenty · 26/05/2022 09:24

The router is a Huawei router supplied by Three. The Three signal is excellent where we are, you need to check who has a strong signal in your area, otherwise you could end up with a poor service.

You certainly do. We use a Huawei 4G router on Three and we get around 1.5 Mbps. However, it is that or absolutely nothing.