Is it high time to hang up the landline?

HOW disappointing that there have been calls to abolish landline phones because of nuisance calls (Mail). Does this mean all copper and fibre connections are to become obsolete and we will have to rely on the mobile phone network? If so, it’s going to be horrendously expensive and, of course, it won’t eradicate nuisance callers — I get unwanted texts on my mobile. I prefer to use my landline and have cut down considerably on the number of nuisance calls I receive by registering with the Telephone Preference Service. The only problem is that it doesn’t stop calls from overseas. You can also screen your calls with an answerphone or record your own message on the 1571 answering service. Nuisance callers seldom leave a message and usually withhold their numbers. However, beware those who have the temerity to expect a call back to their mobile phone at a high cost to you. J. LUXON, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. I HAVE been trying to get rid of my landline for five years as I hardly ever use it. I used to not answer it due to nuisance calls — now I have to pay Virgin Media to block them. The problem is that because I like a desktop stack computer, I need a package for my phone, internet and TV. I asked Virgin that as the TV and the internet have nothing to do with the phone, why do I have to pay £18 a month for a landline I never use? It replied I needed to have the landline as ‘that’s the way the package works’. BT and other providers do the same, so it’s unlikely the landline will die out because these companies must be making millions out of it.

DAVE CRITCHLEY, Birmingham.