Landline cut! More than half of us now have no home phone

...and only one in ten use a landline if they do have it

MORE than half of Irish people don’t use or have a home phone as the number of people using landlines is falling sharply, the latest statistics show.

A newly published report from the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) shows that, last year, 39% of homes had access to and used a home phone. This is down from the 57% reported in 2017 – the last time this survey was carried out.

‘In the sample, 39% of households have access to and use a home phone – which is down significantly from 2017, where the corresponding figure was 57%,’ the report said.

Of the people who do have a landline, 11% don’t use it. In addition, 50% of households said they do not own or have access to a home phone. Both these figures are increases on 2017 when 37% of people said they didn’t have a home phone and 7% said they had one but didn’t use it.

While mobile phones were already ubiquitous in 2017, with 97% of people saying they owned one, that increased to 98% in 2022.

The survey of 1,801 people was looking into consumer use and attitudes surrounding broadband product characteristics and switching behaviour as well as the bundling of retail broadband products and the use of landlines and mobile phones.

In total, 62% of households have their broadband bundled with at least one other service. Of those, 21% said they have a broadband, home phone and TV bundle, while another 21% said they have a broadband and phone bundle.

Other bundles that include a home phone accounted for 14% of bundles. On average, people spend €75 a month on their bundles but that increases to €84 for those with access to fibre. Sky had the highest average spend of €96.

‘Incidence of bundling broadband services stands at 62% of all households surveyed. This figure is very similar to that reported in 2017 at 60%.

‘A broadband and TV bundle is the most common bundle type in the 2022 survey, representing 32% of all bundles. The most common bundle type in 2017 was broadband, TV and home phone,’ the report said.

According to the survey, 89% of people have access to broadband in their home and use it. Only 1% say they have access to broadband but don’t use it, and 10% do not have broadband. Of the people who do not have broadband, 85% said they have no plans to get it in the next 12 months.

The survey also found the average household uses the internet for five hours a day. Usage is highest in Leinster – excluding Dublin – at 6.3 hours a day. Connacht/ Ulster has the lowest daily usage per household, at 3.7 hours.

‘Those with fibre access are most likely to use the internet for streaming/downloading, watching live TV, working from home and gaming,’ the report said.

Virgin Media has the highest share of the residential broadband market with 25% of homes, followed by Eir at 22% and Sky at 18%. Vodafone comes in last of the big four, with 17% being ‘other’ suppliers and 1% of respondents saying they don’t know who their supplier is. People spend an average €43 a month on broadband.