To contemplate not having a landline?

[ShetlandWife]

I've just moved, and I've been getting the runaround with the phone line /broadband set up. So far it is two weeks since it was supposed to be live, and nothing yet.

Wibu to just say sod it, and update to unlimited data on my phone instead, using it to hot-spot my laptop and firetv?

Anyone done this and have any feedback?

We haven’t had a landline and don’t miss it. Only people who called the landline previously were cold callers anyway! My parents also don’t have one and they feel the same.

I don't know anyone with a landline, or if they have one that they technically pay for they have nothing plugged in to the socket.

Personally I have never had one (now in my 30s).

Haven’t had a landline in years. Don’t miss it at all.

Haven't had one since 2007.

I have one, but nothing is plugged in apart from Sky.

Haven't had a landline for 13 years. I rely on my phone hotspot too for netflix etc. Phone data these days is pretty generous. I never go over mine.

We have a landline per se but only for cable service, haven't had an actual house phone for 10+ years though.

We haven’t had a landline for 5 years now. We don’t even have a BT line that comes into our current house. We tried when we moved in (to use broadband) but BT literally wouldn’t put one in - we tried for months to convince them but then gave up when they couldn’t actually figure out how to connect us. Definitely don’t miss it.

I only have a wireless hub connected to my landline, no phone.

But coverage out here is rubbish, so I couldn't rely on 4/5g. I don't give my mobile number out unless it's necessary so don't get much in the way of nuisance calls either.

No house phone for years and years!

People still use landlines ?

Haven’t Used a landline in years
Tethering can drain your phone battery quicker and if a few of your are using it, the connection can buffer a lot.

There’s companies that do phoneless wifi. I’m just waiting for my current contact to expire then I’m getting a wifi box from 3. I’ve had my phone with them for years and no problems with mobile data. Also helps that data isn’t used for Netflix.

Haven’t had a landline since the late 1990’s, really can’t see the point. Go for it. We’ve never missed having one

I've never had a landline since moving out of my parents house. I don't know anyone of my generation with one.

Word of warning on the hotspot use though, I have unlimited data but using it as a hotspot wasn't included, a week of doing this while waiting for our wifi cost us £400. Very nasty shock just after an expensive move.

Haven’t had a landline for more than 10 years. Aside from my parents I don’t know anyone who does (or if they do have one they don’t use it).

It's rare to have a land line in Norway! I haven't had one in 13 years and it's been fine. The only thing I do worry about is when my 7 year old starts being allowed to go home from school on his own next year, but I'm thinking of investing in a basic mobile for the house to cover that issue.

Wouldn’t you miss the 30 calls a day from not TalkTalk telling you your computers been hacked? We don’t own a pc.. but they know best.

Ours is plugged in but that’s for two elderly relatives one of them just has to press one button to get through. And of course my lovely call centre friends who I speak to more than the elderly relatives who might actually need us.

I haven’t had one for years. The only person I know who still uses one is my Grandmother.

We have one for internet but no phone plugged in. Nobody rings landlines anymore!

I think people are missing the point. The question isn't should you have a landline so you receive and make landline phone calls, the question is whether it's OK to rely on mobile data as your main source of internet.

The speed and functionality will either be OK or it won't. If it's OK, it comes down to cost. It will probably be more expensive, but prices do seem to be coming down. If I was going to use mobile data, I wouldn't use my phone, I'd get a proper mobile data service with a router that has its own SIM in it. I think Three do a package like this with unlimited data, probably not the only one.

If you really shop around, then landline linked internet will probably offer better value-for-money though.

We've just moved back from Belgium and had landlines there, and have one here. We don't have smartphones, and ds games a lot, so landline for our broadband. Mobile signal not brilliant either where we are, so a landline is essential.

We have no landline. We pay for a separate 4g Unlimited home wifi service. Its £20 a month. Unrelated to our phones sim only package.

We both work from home, not in city, and always have the internet when needed.

I have cheap 80 Mbs fibre to to my home, cheap because it doesn't include a landline, but very few ISPs support it, so I am at the mercy of my provider if they ever increase prices. (The only realistic alternative is BT, and they currently charge far more than I'd pay.) I'm looking forward to the day when I'll be able to get a 5G router with unlimited data for say £25 a month, as that will be my plan B.

Another issue we had tethering from the mobile was connecting to the ps4. I cannot remember if it ever happened or we just gave up.

When I was thinking about cancelling sky and just using Netflix and amazon, that’s what we did for a month. Downgraded the sky to the basics for a month and switched the boxes off. Before the Netflix trial had finished sky had been cancelled.

I didn't install one when I moved last year - got a little 4gwifi box from EE and it's grand. I really don't think landlines are worth it anymore!