New research that’ll get nan absolutely fuming shows that the faithful landline phone is well and truly on the way out, folks.
Thanks to mobile phones and the NBN, the percentage of fixed line phones is continuing to drop and by 2021, only half of all Australian households will have one. The old technology is estimated to be completely dead by 2037.
According to the research by Finder, the number of Aussies who owned a home phone in 2017 was just 64 per cent, which is down from 83 per cent in 2011. The research analysed data from the Australian Communications and Media Authority which was used to estimate the landline’s final years.
“For some, the death of the landline has already hit,” said Finder tech expert, Alex Kidman. “In fact, it’s likely that many young Aussies will grow up without the sound of a landline ringing through their homes.”
According to earlier research from the company, only 29 per cent of us have a landline and actually use it. In other words, it’s only really the older generation who use the old fixed line. Thirteen per cent say they have a landline but don’t use it, while one in six say they only have one to service an internet connection.
That doesn’t mean there’ll be no option for a home phone in the future, it just means it’ll run on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology, which is what chat programs like Skype use. But with these computer-based alternatives and cheaper mobile phone plans, there’s almost no point.
Kids of the future will never understand the anxiety of calling your friends and having to speak to their parents first, not to mention that at any moment, someone in your household could eavesdrop on your conversation simply by picking up another handset.
