No more landline phones in NZ by 2040, say experts

Landline phones are expected to be defunct in New Zealand by 2040, according to utilities experts.

For the past 12 months, 78% of people using utilities comparison websites have been seeking to switch to plans which do not include a landline.

“Over the years, we’ve seen a decreasing number of people wanting landlines, and at this rate, we think there will be such little demand by 2040 that retailers will stop providing landlines as an option,” said Denis Tyurkov, co-founder of CompareBear.co.nz and Glimp.co.nz.

“Landlines are obsolete now. Like all great technology, they revolutionised things and served their purpose for a long time, but now, there are better options.”

Michael Speight, also a co-founder of the sites, said there are multiple culprits in killing off landlines.

“Cheaper-than-ever smartphones, great plans with unlimited minutes and the inconvenience of having multiple contact numbers: these are just a few of the reasons landlines are heading to their graves,” he said.

“There’s almost no reason to have a landline for domestic calls. Additionally, internet calling — which connects any two people in the world by video for free — has helped play a big part in killing landlines.”

A report two years ago suggested one in five New Zealanders didn’t have landlines, whereas more than 90% of Kiwis had landlines 12 years ago.

“The data we have suggests the drop is exponential and not linear. So it’s not going to be a 10% drop in usage every 10 years; it’s going to be much higher than that and forever increasing,” he said.

“From what we can tell, landlines will be completely gone in New Zealand by 2040.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Brian Jackson

Please follow us and share on Twitter and Facebook. You can also subscribe for FREE to our weekly newsletter and quarterly magazine.