Press & PR

British consumers are likely to give up making voice calls over the old legacy telephone system and instead use their landline mainly for broadband, it has been suggested.

Telecoms research firm Analysys suggested that DSL broadband communications will even reduce the number of people who previously chose to only use their mobile phones for calls.

"Landlines were traditionally used for PSTN fixed voice services – but in fact, landlines are increasingly being used for DSL of course," said principle analyst Rupert Wood.

"What we're seeing in some countries in Europe is the proportion of mobile-only households going down rather than up… [because] broadband penetration is higher than fixed voice penetration [was]."

Mr Wood added that the number of re-adoptions of a landline has been significantly improved as people are choosing to install a new wire "just for the DSL connection".

Consumers can use these broadband lines to make voice calls over the internet for much cheaper fees than traditional voice systems.

Industry pioneer Vonage offers call plans that can cover as many as 25 countries for £9.99 a month, while a local UK and Ireland option is available for £5.99.