Telephone landlines to be obsolete in 5 years, say IT experts

As mobile technology advances, more people are ditching their landlines in favour of a single smartphone. (iStock)Do you still have an office or home telephone line? If so, how often do you use it?

According to the results of a recent survey, you may not be using it for too much longer.

Virgin Media Business, a U.K.-based internet service provider, polled 500 chief information officers about the future of communication.

Sixty-five per cent of those polled said that landlines would become obsolete in five years. The survey found that landlines may not even be an option for workers by 2017.

"The pace of change with technology is having a transformative effect on the way we work," said Tony Grace, the company's chief operating officer in a statement. "A decade ago it would have been unthinkable to suggest an office without telephones. Now it's hard to imagine being separated from our smartphones."

Because smartphones allow office workers to do business away from their desks, both during and outside of work hours, many employers see the benefit of transferring their staff to a mobile phone system.

The results of a recent Computing survey show that 71 per cent of companies now provide smartphones to at least some staff, while one-third offer mobile tablets to their employees.
 
British futurologist Peter Cochrane predicts landlines will be replaced by wireless technology when optical fibres are put in all office spaces.

"The public switch telephone network will be closed down, it's about as relevant as Morse code," he told the Telegraph. "But the landlines can't go until there is wireless connectivity to replace it. There won't be wireless connectivity to replace it until there is optical fibre available to offices and homes in sufficient density."

Grace agrees that landlines are on the way out, citing the encroaching dominance of smartphones (or "mini computers" as he calls them) in every aspect of our lives.

"Almost everywhere we go we're able to check-in at the office, social networking sites, or simply contact friends and family," he said. "This is leading us to rely increasingly on our smartphones and less on our landlines."

Do you agree? Will you give up your landline? Have you already?