Why do we still pay for home phones?

by Adam Turner | Wednesday 14 December 2011

Why is half of Australia still paying $30 per month for a phone line?

Practically everyone has a mobile phone in their pocket. There are more active mobile phones in Australia than there are people.

But there are still more than 10 million fixed-line telephone services in Australia, says a newly released ACMA report, with that number only dropping by a measly 1 percent last year.

Which makes us wonder why people still have fixed phone lines. There's been a boom in the use of Internet telephone calls, with around 3.8 million Australians using VoIP at home and 274,000 using it on their mobile phone. Along with this you’ve got texting, email, instant messaging, Facebook and plenty of other ways to stay in touch with family and friends. Several internet providers offer Naked DSL services, offering broadband access without dial tone, so why are so many of us still paying $30 per month for a phone line we probably don’t need?

One of the main reasons would be that Telstra, Australia’s largest ISP, doesn’t offer Naked DSL. It ran trials but decided not to launch a commercial offering. If you want DSL broadband from Telstra, you have to pay for dial tone whether you’ll use it or not. A home phone line is often factored into many Telstra bundles, so people just pay for it whether they need it or not.

Unfortunately even if you’re with another ISP you might be connected to a Telstra DSLAM, under a Telstra Wholesale agreement with your ISP. If this is the case, your telco probably can’t offer you Naked DSL and you’re stuck paying for dial tone - either to Telstra or to your ISP. The NBN rollout could see this change, as it will break Telstra’s stranglehold the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Are you still paying for a phone line? Would you ditch it given the chance?

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anthonyqld 14 December 2011	Only because it's easier to teach my son how to use a fixed line phone than a mobile in an emergency. I've tried VOIP, it's horrible quality when there's extensive broadband action going on in the background. Comment made about the PC & Tech Authority article: Why do we still pay for home phones?? Why is half of Australia still paying $30 per month for a phone line? What do you think? Join the discussion.
Tysio 14 December 2011	I guess home phones can be just for ease of use, especially for older people. Where it can be quite difficult for them to use other technology such as mobiles, pc's etc.. VOIP as Anthony mentioned isn't always fantastic, you can have Internet drop-outs, even with Cable! Although they're not that frequent, whereas home phones don't cut out as much. Some people may not like upgrading or just can't be bothered taking off their phone line, it's a good arguement though. http://www.ipad-ipod.com.au
petergaskin 14 December 2011	Why would I want to install a large antennae to be able to use wifi at home. Still not sure about naked broadband. Also, some people I know do not want to call a mobile phone - prefer to call a home line instead. So the argument is 2 sided - both ringing and receiving phone calls.
gac 15 December 2011	I have used VOIP for years and now use the excellent OBi110 which allows VOIP & Landline incoming calls through the same home phone. My landline phone number is not transportable in my area, when I can transfer my home number to my voip service (mynetfone) I will drop the landline in a heartbeat.
Rolfy47 15 December 2011	One main reason is good old copper works with no power. I still have one because of a monitored security system. Price comparison with wireless here is not up to scratch yet. If I could get Naked and Wireless for a comparible price, I would do it now.
Jnic 15 December 2011	Nope ... haven't had a "home phone" for years. I have Naked DSL with a VoIP phone which works just as well as a "normal" phone. If your VoIP is useless, maybe look at changing to a provider that goes the extra mile to make VoIP a viable option. In reality, a large proportion of "normal" calls utilise VoIP technology anyway so there's no reason why you can't get good quality if you look in the right place. There is of course the requirement to have a working modem at all times to allow the VoIP to work, which is why I run mine from a solar/battery arrangement which means my Internet and phone stays on even if my power fails .... but I do understand that's a little exessive for most people (but fun nonetheless)!!
jakentta 15 December 2011	Is this a trick question? Seriously, my only reason to have home phone line is to be able to have ADSL internet. I don't even have a phone plugged in the line! For whatever reason naked ADSL is not available from any provider.
tecma 15 December 2011	In far to many cases, people assume that everyone has the ability to have landline broadband. People get real! All the people in my street, in a major suburb don't have that facility and have to use either satellite or wireless, because we are "to far" from the exchange. That is the first reason. Secondly, do you really want to wait on the line for twenty minutes, using a mobile. Not in this lifetime. Thirdly. As said above, I would rather have the satisfaction of having a fixed line phone, rather than a mobile if things go wrong. We have two mobiles in this house and also a home phone. It works well and the phone bill for the phone against the mobile is no commparison and we are good with out calls. And last, 10 million Australians, can't all be wrong.
workingdog 15 December 2011	In the case of someone who purports to run a business but only has a mobile phone, it generates the following questions. If this person doesn't have a fixed office and a landline. Are they running a REAL business or some backyard operation? Secondly, most people are very aware of the cost and will not willingly ring a mobile phone and incur the added charges. It's a matter of trust I reckon.
Dinosaur 15 December 2011	Is this guy serious? There are lots of reasons for having a land line vs being a mobile only junkie. 1. Reliabaility in a crisis (eg power down can take VOIP and mobile repeaters) 2. Quality of service (your location and buildings affect mobile reception) 3. Community property - If I'm in the garden and the phone rings someone can pick it up and call me inside 4. Safety - No way will I talk more than a few minutes on a mobile - I had a phone that gave me a numbness in my ear (now discarded) - there are health impacts with them not yet recognised. 5. Convenience and Peace of Mind - I only turn my mobile on when I want to do something with it - I am not 24 hours available yet that is the way that people on mobiles think! 6. Cost - Mobile call rates are rediculously expensive for land lines so I don't call them unless I absolutely have to. This phoney call mobile cap rubbish (eg $500 value for $40) shows what a con it all is as telcos try and use a stick to get people off land lines. Maybe my problem is that I live my live for real rather than wasting it in a virtual web world and spending half the day yabbering every random thought to "friends" and the world at large!
Ajax9000 15 December 2011	1a: more likely to work in an emergency 1b: don't want the offspring to have a mobile yet ... 2: back-to-base monitored alarm 3: the Optus cable modem has it, so why not? And: Basic inertia. There are mobiles for tweens (i.e. strong parental controls), so 1b is kinda irrelevant. GSM dialers can be retrofitted to house alarms for less than $80, so 2 is irrelevant too (and some newer alarms have GSM dialers inbuilt).
MadMax 15 December 2011	I want to go naked, but it's not available in my area nor is 3G.
marts 15 December 2011	Tysio, what's your definition of "older people" in terms of age bracket. I suspect that I'd qualify as one, given that I'm in my mid 50s. I run an Android tablet, an Android phone. I also have VOIP on my ADSL2+ enabled landline. Plus, I work in a engineering/technical field, so I'm not "scared" of technology. I run a landline because when it comes down to it, ADSL2+ is still the cheapest and fastest way to be online. Add in a wireless router and all my family's handheld devices have a cheap internet connection, when they are at home. I pay $22 a month on Telstra's Homeline Budget product. I got in before Telstra decided to deny DSL customers this option when VOIP started becoming more popular. The reduced landline fee, along with the substantial savings that we make using Mynetfone's VOIP service means that I have a service with two phone numbers (three if you also add in Faxstream Duet which we run for an extra $5 a month). This gives us cheap calls, a reliable phone line in the event of something happening (Black Saturday comes to mind around here) to the internet service, or indeed, to the mobile network. We also have a data service where a 100 gigabytes of data costs us under $60 a month. Nothing that the mobile, or indeed, wireless internet services have to offer can come close to matching. We spent most of our non-working life at home. When we are out, we don't care whether or not we can Tweet, Facebook or email our friends or family. That is what actual socialising is for. ie. going out for dinner, to the movies, having lunch or a coffee at Gloria Jeans, playing sport or just dropping by for a cuppa.
Doc Harry 16 December 2011	I still use copper for a number of reasons. 1. Its cheaper to use 2. My mobile for the most part will not work inside the house. (I live in a Sydney suburb.) 3. In general I find copper more reliable. 4. The effect of EMR on the human body has not yet been disproved so I limit my exposure. 5. At various times I have tried VoIP with mixed results. 6. Copper is just so damned simple to use and convenient. And the list goes on.
magura 16 December 2011	Very simple. Because I am Rimmed (read monopolised) by tel$tra. I can't get internet through optus or any of their resellers. I use mynetfone with Sydney & Gosford DID's for recieving and making calls from home, have my android phone attached to a Sydney DID through pennytel allowing me to forward my received mnf calls to my mobile acting as a landline, haven't tested it on 3g yet but works ok via wifi. TPG PAYG on mobile. Will I drop the $30pm for a landline forced on me indirectly by tel$tra ? In a heartbeat. When I get access to another set of infrastructure (ie:NBN) - or when some authority forces tel$tra to open access to the mini-exchanges (RIM) they have dotted around the country on street corners, as they are forced to in their big exchanges.
jaquelined 17 December 2011	Looking for a good package with good download/upload speeds, download limit of at least 20GB, pay TV and maybe even a good moble phone deal all packaged up with the one provider.
Haratu 17 December 2011	My wife and i have mobile phones. We use a wireless internet router at home, and have no land line. We did this primarily becasue the phonelines in our area are really dodgy, as well as bad wiring in our house, but it is also of great benefit as we are renters and when you have a wireless router you do not incur disconnection/reconnection fees when changing houses.
lindy 19 December 2011	Why are landlines still popular? The reality is half of Australia can't get good mobile reception or good internet coverage - in spite of the claims of the telcos and our wonderful prime minister's promises. Areas which are classified as having good mobile reception and fast internet are in reality "fringe" - For instance even though we're just a few kilometres from a city of 65,000 people we have choppy mobile reception (no reliable reception in the house) and our internet speed is 1/3 the speed we're paying for. We can't even watch videos on U-tube without constant stalling and freezing while they buffer. So what are our chances of holding a phone conversation? Our suburb doesn't have scheme water, a public phone or a bus service. Hello - what do you think our chances are of ever getting high speed internet? Even though we're a mere 65 kilometres from the CBD? Another reason landlines are still popular is because every second mobile phone you buy is dodgy. My daughter bought a $600 Samsung Galaxy recently. It's lucky if we can contact her 10% of the time even if we are calling from a "good reception area" and she's in a "good reception area". My son's 5 year old mobile phone works better than my daughter's new phone. The day you can take your brand new dud mobile back to a seller and get another replacement brand new phone without hesitation is the day I give up my reliable landline and reliable H.F radio. Until then, mobiles remain a dicey alternative means of communication. And as for internet phone calls - they remain a pipe-dream.
beejh50 21 December 2011	Have stayed with landline as mobile reception hereabouts is very poor (undulating, hilly area - highly treed, prone to fog and mist). ps last time i checked our local exchange did not offer naked DSL either. ADSL1 has only been on offer for 3-4 years I recall. ADSL2 is but a mere pipe dream in this low population zone I suspect. o ahead NBN prove me wrong. It can be awkward just getting mobile phone reception - which closest lone of sight is about 40kms away. If we dispose of the land-line then will need to augment standard technology to give fair to middling reception in this area I suspect. But this would need some testing of course. Of course wireless then exposes any data streams more openly to interception by whoever. Do I ten have to add a VPN to my home service. Is this neurotic. It's just 'dun easier' to stay on landline where these issues are 'quite' as significant a threat.
Haratu 22 December 2011	It would be wise to point out that some cities have very little hills (like Perth) compared to one with many more hills (like Sydney), even tall buildings can block signals. Weather also comes into it, some places allow much better reception due to dry clear skies. So where you live can determine the willingness of going wireless. It is worthwhile checking on reviews of wireless internet services and looking at the locations, Bad reviews (of people that can connect) for wireless often come from cities like Melbourne and Sydney. Whereas if you were to live in Perth you often find quite good reviews for the same service due to the geography of the location and low population density.
notagain 28 February 2012	I have ADSL2(10GB Data, free local calls, free national calls, free calls to Optus mobiles and half price calls to other mobile providers) for $34.50 and that INCLUDES THE LANDLINE RENTAL. Ever tried to download a movie or large app or stream a movie through mobile, what a joke and the cost is "over-the-top".
gerry161 3 March 2012	People hate calling mobile to get a tradie as it costs 1 or 2 dollars a 3 min call...home phone 20c all day. Many do not have mobiles or cant afford one as our call prices are so high.