Landline phones will be dead within two decades, as more households go with mobiles only
A NEW survey has revealed just how few Aussie households are getting along without an old handset phone, as experts believe the devices will become obsolete sooner than we ever expected.
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EXCLUSIVE
THE humble home phone is dying.
New research shows half of all Australian households are likely to have ditched the landline phone by the end of the year, and the technology could be less than two decades away from total extinction.
Experts warn older Australians may struggle to give up their trusty handsets, but the National Broadband Network and better mobile phone networks could see the devices disappear even earlier than expected.
A new survey from Finder.com.au showed only 55 per cent of Australians households currently had a home phone connected, and telco expert Alex Kidman said many only kept the technology out of habit or to use in the case of an emergency.
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“There is a market for landline phones but it seems to be older and because there’s a comfort and an expectation of having a landline phone,” he said.
“The number of home phones is going to dwindle away to a point where the landline phone is about as useful and relevant as listening to music on a wax cylinder.”
Figures from the Australian Communications and Media Authority showed more than 6.6 million adults had no fixed phone at home, and the number of households with a home phone had dropped from 75 per cent in 2012 to just 64 per cent in 2016.
If home phone ownership continued to drop at the same rate, Australia could hang up on the technology completely by 2037.
Ella Smith, who operates a communications firm from her southwestern Sydney home, said she wouldn’t be surprised to see home phones disappear after ditching her landline years ago.
Ms Smith said she and her husband didn’t miss having a fixed phone “at all,” as “the benefits to using a mobile phone really outweighed the downsides”.
Her boys Harrison and Charlie, both aged under four years, had never even heard a landline ring, she said, and had no idea how to work a dial.
“When I’ve been in an antique shop looking at those old, heavy, black phones that our grandparents had, they don’t even know how to dial a number,” she said.
“It’s quite a comical interaction, watching them follow the rotary dial around. There’s just no connection between that and making a phone call because they’re so used to screens now.”
Mr Kidman said home phone connections over the National Broadband Network that required electricity to operate, more reliable mobile phone coverage, and cheaper mobile phone plans would also play a significant role in getting rid of the traditional telephone, even though some might find the change tougher than others.
“For some people, there will be a bit of a wrench to it because of that comfort factor, but a huge number of senior Australians are already using mobile phones,” he said. “The transition might not hurt them and it could save them money too.”
Originally published as Landline phones will be dead within two decades, as more households go with mobiles only
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