END OF AN ERA: LANDLINES ARE BEING PHASED OUT?
Mom, dad: Landlines are being phased out, probably for good.
Phone companies want to shift to newer infrastructure within the next few years, which means older copper wire-based lines will be phased out, in favour of more advanced technology like fibre optics that doesn’t work with landlines.
There was a time when landlines were a lot cheaper and much more reliable compared to cell phones, but it’s about to be the reverse.
Of course, many households gave up their landlines a decade ago, if not longer, but the breakdown of the landline system will impact some older folks, small businesses, and people in remote areas.
Just over 52% of Ontario households still have landline service, and almost 92% have or also have cellular service..
According to one expert, about 100 million landlines between business and residential are currently active in the U.S., but only about 5% of them are expected to remain by 2030.
