AIBU to get rid of my land line

[KindleAndCake]

AIBU to get rid of my land line, if I can, to save the money costs. We've all got mobiles, so people can get hold of us and we can call out. Do other people do this?

I've not had one for atleast 10 years, most people use mobiles and text anyway, can't say I've ever missed it. I could plug one in as we still have the line, it's not included in our plan but could use it as a pay as you go service but never felt the need to.

We haven't had a landline in 9 years

We don't have a landline.
Might need to pay for one for broadband but we don't have a phone plugged in the wall anywhere.

The rabbit bit

I read those three words and my mind assumed you were a Cockney referring to the end in which you speak

We don't use ours much and I keep intending to make plans to dump the PSTN (standard talk infrastructure) element of it, but we're definitely keeping it for stable high-speed broadband provision. We're currently with a broadband company that only offer VoIP options and with another company for the calls package, so should be easy to get rid of the latter and save ££s each month.

I do think there's a bit of a problem, though - with this and all other kinds of progressing technology - as there are always assumptions that 'nobody uses that anymore', when in fact, there are plenty of people - overwhelmingly elderly - who DO still rely on the tech that they're comfortable and satisfied with, who often then feel cut adrift when it's just taken away from them by (mainly) younger and more tech-savvy people who assume that nobody wants it anymore.

We've found that recently with SD television. I'm sure most people would consider us dinosaurs, but we've been happy with it for ages. We've considered switching to HD for some time, but it's never been top of our priority list; and most of the additional gimmicks functions that it comes with are of no interest to us, although they do bump the cost up.

Obviously, we'll have to do something - and I am tech-savvy enough to be able to research it and make the change, when I get around to it - but I wonder how many elderly and vulnerable people will have just seen their regional BBC channels disappear without any advance notice at all and might be distressed that 'the telly has stopped working'. Especially as the elderly are proportionately more likely to pay for a licence fee to a corporation that now only seems to care about the young.

The landline thing is all going to come to a head in the next two years anyway, as traditional PSTN/POTS landline services will become a thing of the past by 2025. Everybody will have a broadband line - with voice services through VoIP only. Again, there's been very little publicity about this - but then, again, those most affected will be the elderly; and presumably it's just their own 'fault' for getting old. Something else that worked just fine but will be stopped working because of 'progress'.

It may provide the encouragement to those without the internet to start getting engaged online, but I think many may go the other way and end up feeling alienated and confused by it all. As an equivalent, I think it's a bit like forcing everybody to buy, maintain, keep and run a car in the name of progress - when those who only travel occasional short distances just want to pay their fare/flash their bus pass as they go and not have all the needless tied-in hassle.

I haven't had a landline for years. Don't see the point. Have unlimited calls and data on my mobile.

We haven't had a phone plugged into a landline since 2014!

Haven’t had a landline in 15 years. Don’t know anyone who as one.

I do think that most younger people who have grown up with mobiles - or who were of an age where tech didn't daunt them when they came in - don't have a clue how many older people can struggle with them (obviously, plenty of older people don't struggle with them and happily embrace them).

Small non-tactile buttons, little writing on small screens, having to remember to use a dialling code to call your next-door neighbour, keep them charged and know where you left it. Not to mention the costs (and the faff of topping up) if you don't have an inclusive package, which may not be worth it for your own usage.

Quite often, the assumption that "Oh, they'll learn" in reality ends up as simply having to learn to do without it.

I have a landline. I don't know how we would get a good broadband service without it? And we use it occasionally as the mobile reception here is not always good. When I'm speaking to my doctor, or other professionals I'd rather not be spending half the conversation asking or being asked ' can you hear me' 🙄

We’ve not had one for over ten years now and I don’t think we used it for years before that

A few years ago a colleague had an emergency situation at home where she needed to stay on the line to 999 until the paramedics arrived but really needed to be calling someone to come and watch her children at the same time.
She urged to us all to get landlines phones after that.

To be fair, if you don't struggle with mobiles at all, then any spare phone would cover that scenario - a cheap PAYG mobile with a tenner of credit and kept charged.

I haven’t had one for about the same length of time too. The only people I know who have then are of my parents’ generation. None of them struggle with mobiles.

I cannot imagine having a landline again. You can buy specialist old people mobiles with larger buttons etc. I’d imagine as my parents’ generation age that will be a growing market with lots of innovation. They already use smartphones daily and aren’t going to want to go back to the sort of things their parents did.

My broadband provider have stopped doing that scammy but where they force you to have a landline you never use so you can have broadband.

frankly it’s ridiculous that companies are allowed to do that.

My 'landline' came with the virgin package. I've got a cheap handset connected but have the ringing turned off. I see it as an emergency link if something happens to my mobile.

Not had a landline for years and never had a problem. We have a spare emergency mobile just in case.

Haven’t had one since 1999. Not a problem whatsoever. Both have mobiles and tether for internet of using laptop/tablet/kindle.
one less thing to pay for and dust. Must have saved a fortune!

I struggle to hear people when they are using a mobile. Landlines seem to be crisper/clearer. The equivalent would be reading print thats blurry or night driving with astigmatism. Its possible but damn hard, frustrating and headache inducing after a while.

If you can then use a landline for your relative. Actually I wonder if that's why so many people shout when using mobiles, ppl can't hear them clearly 🤔

My broadband provider have stopped doing that scammy but where they force you to have a landline you never use so you can have broadband. frankly it’s ridiculous that companies are allowed to do that.

All the internet providers that use open reach (sky, bt, talk talk, plusnet, vodaphone and more) require a landline. You don't have to have a phone or a number but the landline still needs to be physically there because they use the same cables. A quick google of Martin Lewis tells me that it's a minimal difference in cost wether you have one or not.

Exactly the same here, other than the broadband provider.

I got a cheap handset and it's plugged in with the volume off.

This is very true - I work mainly with very elderly people and the isolation that technological advances can cause is very concerning. To even access basic services that they need is so very hard without a basic knowledge of the internet.
Just finding a phone number for health and banking issues can be a maze. Some people haven't got help at hand to set them up and guide them through systems that often require a modicum of knowledge.
We've all been frustrated with even small things like passwords. Imagine navigating through this as a vulnerable non techy person - trying to get hold of your bank (that is no longer on the High Street) and you are scared to use online banking or have never been shown.
It scares me how those that don't have help so easily become 'left behind'
For those that say 'their parents or grandparents are fine with mobiles, modern tv's, banking on line etc - great, but in my experience this may not always be the case going forward.

We were going to get rid of ours until we found our Virgin package was going to be £10 a month more without a landline.
Seems weird to me but I don’t want to spend an extra £120 a year to get rid of it.

Yes, basic models do. I have a cordless landline at home but as that needs power to work, I also keep an old plug in type phone in a drawer just in case!

Although I have Virgin for my broadband and tv so technically don’t need a landline, I kept it because my mum, who had dementia, used the landline to contact me, mobiles were a mystery to her! However, as she died last year, I am now looking at cheaper broadband packages than Virgin so might get rid of the landline if it’s not necessary and saves money.

Broadcasters still prefer landlines for the security and quality of a domestic call. You can tell a skype/teams/mobile interview when you hear one. Now most of us aren't going to be interviewed but I can see why people with hearing difficulties (not all elderly) prefer to stick with landlines. And if, like me, you have varying reception even in a tiny house but still insist on wandering around or even gardening during long calls (thanks DM) it can be frustrating.

I have never owned landline. I'm 41 and had a mobile since I left home at 18. I don't know anyone that even has one unless they're a business.

Always amazes me how many people on MN "can't imagine having one" just because they don't need or want one. They obviously can't imagine living in a rural area with poor mobile signal, which is the case for some of us.