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Landline telephones to be axed by 2025 and replaced with digital

17 August 2021, 11:31

The technology which powers landline phone will be turned off in 2025. Picture: Getty/Alamy

By Alice Dear

The change will happen in four years time, at which point everyone in the UK will need an internet connection to make a phone call.

Landlines will be axed in 2025, it has been revealed.

The traditional copper-wire landline technology will be replaced by digital, meaning people across the UK will need an internet connection in order to place a phone call.

The technology that powers landlines now will be switched off in 2025, and everyone will move to an Internet-based connection.

Millions of people still use the traditional landline, but following the creation of the Internet, which started in the 1960s in California, more and more people have chosen to move to fibre-optic cables.

Everyone in the UK will move to digitally powered landlines, meaning an internet connection will be needed to make a phone call. Picture: Getty

Fibre-optic cables are considerably cheaper to run than the copper-wire landline.

People who are worried about the switch have been reassured that the changes will happen behind the scenes, and that people will not need to change their phones or their telephone numbers.

However, some people will have to plug their home phone into an internet router to continue using it – in other words, people will not be able to make phone calls unless they have an Internet connection.

The telecoms companies have assured people that the switch will be made behind-the-scenes, with little input needed from the user. Picture: Getty

This move has not come from the Government, and instead is being led by the telecoms companies.

However, the decision to move to digital in 2025 has not been well received by many who worry about people being left behind, including the elderly.

Director of Age UK Caroline Abrahams, for example, told the Mail Online: "Given that about half of older people over the age of 75 are not online, this could be a particular problem for our oldest citizens.

"Given the threat of fraud, telecom providers also need to take steps to prevent anyone who is in particularly vulnerable circumstances from becoming victims of digital scams".

Some people are concerned about the change, especially for the less tech-friendly elderly. Picture: Getty

Ofcom have reassured worried parties that telecom providers will be obligated to make sure every household has an emergency option in case of a power cut or a drop in Internet.