Office phones could die out within the next few years

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The office landline phone could well go extinct if current trends continue, new reseach has revealed.

Analysis of recent Ofcom data from Ringover found that business landline numbers fell to 4.98 million in 2019, a drop of 370,000 compared to the previous year.

The company noted that this decrease continues a trend seen since 2013, and that if the numbers continue to fall in such a fashion, landline phones will be all but extinct by 2027.

Good riddance?

Although a key part of many offices for some time, reliance on traditional phone landlines has been plummeting in recent years as workers turn to online solutions such as video conferencing for their comms.

The report notes that as recently as 2013 there were more than eight million in the UK’s office and workplaces - but at the current rate, this will fall below two million in spring 2024, and drop under one million in early 2026.

“The office landline has kept businesses running for almost a hundred years, so it will be quite a milestone when the last one is terminated," said Renaud Charvet, CEO at Ringover Group.

“Few people should mourn their demise, however, as the alternatives give businesses a huge opportunity to turn a standard business phone into a real productivity tool designed for modern workers. With millions of people working from home, the office landline looks increasingly redundant, and the data suggests that they will only be with us for another six years or so."

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Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.