Are we nearing the point of no landlines?

lpm

Was onto o2 today with regards to their o2 business clear package for €99+vat. Unless the lad on the other end was cranking my chain he said for this price you get

landline calls
Any network mobile calls
Texts
All unlimited up to a fair usage policy of 5000 minutes, with multiple users on one package.

Considering that the majority of people would have a mobile and if you weren’t reliant on your landline for BB and if everyone had this sort of package on their mobile would it not be more cost effective just to work off your mobile when you take into account landline charges like line rental etc. I presume with time these sort of packages will come down in price also making even more sense

On a side note anyone stuck on a contract with VF and looking for a similar package, they will do it if you get talking to the right person even though they only advertise a 600 maximum package

mikemac

Nope, landines are here for decades

Now I know you said if you weren't dependent on your landline for broadband.
But consider in many counties of Ireland your landline will get you dial-up speeds at best.
Broadband? Well you put on your runners and walk to your neighbors and get them to sign a declaration of interest (form probably has a different name) and then submit it to Eircom

lol at the posters on boards bitching about the 10mb and 20mb broadband speeds they pay for

jesus_thats_gre

Maybe landlines in the traditional sense might disappear but I reckon that there will be a physical telecoms connection of some sort to the majority of properties for a long time to come.

If anything, the number might increase depending on whether new or existing technologies become fashionable and if goverments decide to support nationwide rollouts.

Davy

lpm wrote: »

On a side note anyone stuck on a contract with VF and looking for a similar package, they will do it if you get talking to the right person even though they only advertise a 600 maximum package

Vodafone have upto a 10,000 minute plan iirc


Regarding landlines, in the last quarter their was 2billion minutes on landlines and 2.5billion minutes used on mobile. Oddly the quarter before it was still 2billion on landlines but 2.9billion on mobiles.

26% of call volumes are landlines to landlines, while 38% of all call volumes are mobile to mobile

towel401

If anything will get rid of the landlines it is IP phones and cable / fibre optic.

Mobile phones have always and will always be a fooking expensive way of calling people. and the mobile 'broadband' will always suck compared to FTTH.

notice on that price plan how you get no data, no international calls

if you look at the 4G roadmaps it will eventually be all IP phones. some mobile, some fixed connections. pay for the bandwidth not the call

Ah-Watch

the 02 tariff mentioned by OP doesn't include texts sher it doesn't- last i knew it didn't anyway. Vodafone's plan- vodafone solo is moreless the same but for 99ex vat you'll get 10000 texts as well as 10000 mins per month.
We're thinking of getting rid of the housephone and the only thing i.ll miss will be the broadband cos mobile broadband just doesn't compare.

civildefence

I don't think we will ever see the end of landline's per se. I do however think that we will eventually see the end of the existing single-pair, copper wire network. It is inevitable that fibre will take over. I don't for a second believe that (in terms of reliability and stability) wireless systems will ever out-perform anything hard-wired in any scenario, telecoms or otherwise.

blaz

I have not had a land line for the past 5 years and there was not a single occasion when I would actualy need it. The fixed line operators in Ireland are literally forcing a land line down your throat when you buy broadband, because otherwise almost nobody would buy it anyway. That's why I'm using cable broadband...

In other countries around Europe you are NOT forced to buy a land line when you buy ADSL broadband service, you can get just data service over that copper pair. Paying almost 25 EUR for something you don't need (i.e. the land line) is simply a ripoff. The only value of land lines is in areas with bad mobile coverage and there are suprisingly many in a country as developed as Ireland is.

As far as I am concerned, landlines for residential customers are dead. On the other hand, land lines for business customers have their value, because of their higher reliability and the services they support.