Your landline's days are numbered - at least in its current form. In December 2025, BT will switch off the UK's analogue phone network. Although you may still have a phone connected by cable to a socket on your wall, it will be digital - end to end. You should be able to keep your existing number, and your phone company should be in touch between now and switch-off day to explain the change. However it's connected, from that date your phone calls will pass over the internet using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) rather than the public switched telephone network (PSTN). VoIP is already widely used in business, as it allows organisations to quickly set up, expand, or shut down offices without signing long-term contracts for phone services. There are many reasons why it will also interest home users - one is portability. It remains to be seen exactly how the nationwide VoIP rollout will be handled across the UK, but if you sign up with a private VoIP provider today you can 'install' your number on multiple devices simultaneously, so your home phone and an app on your mobile phone can each make and receive calls on the same landline number. That way, you'll never miss a call, wherever you are.
展开▼
