End of the landline as one in f ive ditch home phones

IT WAS once considered an important status symbol – but having a home phone is increasingly seen as a costly white elephant.

One in five households no longer bother with a landline, figures show, and almost a third of those that do have one never actually use it.

The vast majority of people who still have a home phone – 72 per cent – say they have it only because it is part of their broadband package.

Research from price comparison website comparethemarket.com also shows that less than a quarter of those aged 18 to 34 use landlines at all, preferring to rely on their mobile phone. But that is not the only reason to ditch the home phone – 20 per cent of those surveyed said that they were fed up with the number of cold calls and would-be scammers.

Digital media expert Dr Elinor Carmi said there was a generational and social divide in phone use.

She explained: ‘If you’re young and have the mobility to go outside, you would rely on a mobile phone.

‘But if you are older, disabled and perhaps poorer, our research shows you’re more likely to use a landline. If you are richer, you will have access to more smart devices – a smart TV, smartphone or laptop.

‘But the poorer you are – or if you are older, your use of these devices is more limited.’

Landlines were at their most popular in the late 1990s, when 95 per cent of homes had one.

Holly Niblett, from comparethemarket.com, said: ‘At about £200 a year, line rental charges are a 20th Century hangover in an increasingly digital age.

‘Ofcom analysis shows that buying broadband as a package bundle can be cheaper than purchasing these services.’