I think you’re probably right, that I have overstated things a bit. I was thinking about this some more over the weekend. There is a clear trend of fixed-to-mobile substitution among younger people — but what happens when those people grow up and have small children, for instance? Do you revert back and get a fixed-line family phone at the house? What about kids who have grown up with mobiles, will they ever see a need to get a fixed line at home? Or what’s the alternative — shared mobiles, or fixed terminals that use the mobile network?

Indeed, as you cite, there are plenty of cases where a fixed-line makes sense, particularly in business. I think I could have worded things better, perhaps, to say the days of old-styled copper landlines are numbered. But with prices dropping so far so fast, it’s clear that the fixed-line phone business, especially the residential business, is in for some serious disruption.

My wife won’t let me cancel the house phone, even though it doesn’t get used much. It’s re-assuring to her that we have it.

Interesting. It’s only really the US (OK & Finland) that take a sort of philosophical view that “cutting the cord” is somehow the way of the future.

I’m seeing an increasing realisation that actually fixed-line telephony (or more importantly fixed VoIP) has a permanent role in many contexts. It has different use cases, different psychological connotations and I cannot see it disappearing, especially in countries outside the US where fixed & mobile numbers are visibly different.

In particular, there is a strong rationale for places having numbers, as well as people. I really don’t want the cellphone number of the guy who cooks pizza, I just want the number of the pizza store itself.

Dean