Fixed phone usage declining, BT to trial broadband-only connections

Homeowners will be able to take out a broadband connection without being forced to take a phone line under plans announced by BT.

In an increasingly digital world, many homes in Britain no longer consider using a fixed phone to make calls, instead relying on mobile phones, Skype, Whatsapp and FaceTime. Indeed, many households find a phone line to be more a hindrance than a need, with a recent poll conducted by Ofcom, the regulator, finding that nine in 10 households had nuisance calls at least once a month on a fixed line.

According to the research, the UK made approximately 17.7 billion minutes of outgoing calls in the third quarter of 2015, which is down by 2.1 billion minutes, or 10 per cent, from the same quarter the year before. While the amount of homes connected to phone lines have increased, the report states that this is because people need a phone line to connect to the broadband.

The move could cut the price of home telecoms services for those households who no longer need them and could additionally make it easier for customers to work out exactly how much the broadband packages are, particularly at a time where these packages are coming under increasing criticism for being overly confusing. Ofcom has complained in recent times about the difficulty of choosing products with time-limited discounts.

The trial is planned for this autumn and will uncouple the phone line and the broadband line. A spokesman said of the trial: “Services such as Skype and FaceTime have become increasingly popular over the last decade, and we believe all-IP [internet protocol] services will be the norm for the whole UK by 2025.”

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(Image: Bidgee)