The traditional landline phone number will become nothing more than a memory when the services are axed from 2025, prompting concerns for the elderly, infirm, and vulnerable.
The chopping of the services, which have been widely in existence since the first telephone was invented over 100 years ago, will mean that every household in the country which wants to keep a phone line will need to have an internet connection.
Thousands of Islanders who currently do not have or use the internet will be forced online or to use a mobile phone instead.
The change, which unlike the Digital Switchover in 2012 which saw the Government lead the way in scrapping the traditional analogue television services, is being led by telecoms providers.
The changes are also set to affect thousands of other systems which use the landline system such as emergency phones in lifts, alarm systems, payment terminals and the hardly used telephone boxes that can still be found in some places on the Isle of Wight.
Concerns have been raised by charities and experts regarding those who don’t have access to a mobile phone or may struggle to adapt. 6% of households in the UK don’t have an internet connection, with over half of people aged over 75 not being online.
Caroline Abrahams, director of Age UK, gave an interview to the MailOnline. She said:
“Given that about half of older people over the age of 75 are not online, this could be a particular problem for our oldest citizens.
Article continues below this advertisement “Given the threat of fraud, telecom providers also need to take steps to prevent anyone who is in particularly vulnerable circumstances from becoming victims of digital scams.”
Obligations will still remain with telecoms providers to ensure that all users can still access calls in the event of an emergency with reassurances being given after worries were noted about the ability to contact the emergency services in a power cut – which could take out internet services.
There’s no news yet on how those using landlines will be informed of the switchover, but it’s expected to begin in 2025.
Not everyone has a mobile phone or internet so they are being victimised why can’t they just leave things as they are.
victimised – give it a rest – representatives from the phone company aren’t kicking the doors in and ripping out cables, whilst laughing at the old and vulnerable clinging on to the old phone.
this decision is being based on the ever declining rate of landline calls being made and the ever increasing cost of maintaining this part of the system. cost per call for the providers is increasing significantly against the reduction in call rates – basic business decision.
Well let’s hope that you never have an elderly, infirm relative who relies on their landline to make daily contact with members of their family.
those in my family that are considered as “elderly” – all have mobile phones and internet access. They use facetime as well for video calls
How do we get the internet? Well most from a landline! I suspect that this is a non story, that is someone has talked about this being an option but nothing more.
Always get good reception and clarity from a landline, which is more than can be said for mobiles and internet connections, regardless of how much you pay!
The landline is the most resilient form of communication. If we are forced to using satellites , who will be monitoring, what we are are their motives, where are they in the world and what will happen if there is a solar flare on magnetic storm. We will be assured all is well but will it, in the 1800s a solar flare wiped out the telegraph system. Bu***rd if I want to give up the landline I spent £10 on a phone 15 years ago and it is still working well.
At first this seems lie an alarming story of “leaving folks behind in a technology advance” but it is quite the opposite. Technology now with Voice over Internet Protocol and the reliability of mobile networks ( probably more reliable than landlines !) and the devices that can make people feel that they are just picking up a regular landline phone should not leave anyone to worry about this development.
Typical Tories, they don’t care about the poor people who don’t have a mobile phone or an internet provider. The landline telephone, for some is their lifeline and link to the outside world. I don’t agree with this change at all.
and there were protests about cars when they first showed up- some people at the time, said that cars were a passing fad,that would never replace the horse and cart
There are still parts of the island with no mobile phone signal, such as parts of Bouldnor. The government should insist that all such black spots are properly covered before allowing this withdrawal of service.
The amount of mis information on this is incredible.
Money talks, even if we can’t. HM Gov allowed the sell-off of BT/Openreach, so now anything goes.
BT gave OfCom “voluntary undertakings” when Openreach was set up, which do not have the force of public service obligation. So we’re stuck.
VoIP depends on privately-operated broadband, susceptible to all kinds of disruption including loss of power to your home (in which case your router will fail). On the other hand, as people abandon landlines in favour of mobile phones, the cost per remaining user of landline service will become unaffordable.
The world economy is now in the hands of private providers – clever, eh?
the landline phone numbers may be going, but the entire system they use isn’t going anywhere – after all – nearly all internet connections in the home use the landline system, as well as nearly all businesses.
the next steps will be to turn off the analogue tv transmitters, so that all tv is received via the internet and all the frequencies currently being used by the tv transmitters, will be auctioned off to mobile service providers.
I thought all landlines automatically came with some sort of Internet service now, even if you don’t actually have the Internet. That is certainly true for someone I know, Broadband included in her landline but she doesn’t have Internet and doesn’t want it. I hardly ever use my mobile phones as so expensive, only ever use my landline for calls.