Last Updated on January 30, 2025
A landline is the term given to the traditional phone line most people have either in their homes or in their offices.
It’s a physical phone line that has a BT Openreach socket placed within the home or office where you can connect a telephone handset.
BT Openreach and other phone providers, with oversight from the government, will soon be switching this older traditional network off, and it won’t work as it once did.
This means that by the end of January 2027, if businesses or residential homes don’t find a replacement, they may lose their service due to the changes.
With that in mind, we’ve seen a lot more traffic coming through to our website from customers and businesses looking for advice on what might be a good alternative to a traditional landline, as well as all the facts and information customers might need about landlines, traditional phone lines and their virtual alternatives.
What is a Landline?
A landline is what many consider to be the traditional phone line that generations have had in their home for the best part of 50 years, although affluent homes had phone lines installed as early as the 1930s.
Traditional landline services are provided on the PSTN network. PSTN stands for Public Switched Telephone Network.
It is the traditional, circuit-switched network used for telephone communication worldwide. PSTN connects landlines through physical copper wires, fibre optics, and switching centres, enabling voice calls to be transmitted.
These traditional handsets are what most people had in their homes before the uptake of mobile phones back in the mid to late 1990s and are now quite a rare sight in most people’s homes.
What are landlines used for?
Traditionally these lines and the associated handsets were used to make voice calls to other landlines, business or government departments. This was their main use for the vast majority of the time they were in people’s homes.
As time went on and the internet became widely adopted, there was first dial-up internet that went over the internet via a modem and then broadband internet, which could be used simultaneously with telephones and voice.
Landlines could also accommodate fax machines, however, as the internet took over, these became extremely rare apart from government departments and as security back up.
With the changing world, the old PSTN infrastructure will be changed to meet modern demands and rather than dedicated landline phones being transmitted over dedicated cabling and fibre from one specific location, they will instead be sent over the internet as VoIP (Voice Over IP).
The change is scheduled for 2027, so physical landlines will cease to exist as we know them.
Although telephone handsets can still be used in the same manner, they will no longer be fixed to a physical location and will instead use internet calling.
Different examples of landline phone numbers
Landline phone numbers in the UK follow specific formats depending on the region and type of service.
These numbers are tied to physical locations or fixed lines and are an integral part of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) as it stands today.
The most common type of landline numbers in the UK are geographical phone numbers, which are associated with specific areas or regions.
They typically begin with an area code, such as 020 for London, 0161 for Manchester, or 0121 for Birmingham, followed by a local number.
Geographic numbers are tied to fixed locations, making them easy to identify by region.
Once the PSTN infrastructure is turned off, these numbers will no longer need to be issued according to location and so residents and businesses will theoretically have a choice.
Non-geographic landline numbers aren’t tied to a specific location. Examples include 0300, 0800, and 0845 numbers.
These are often used by businesses or government departments to provide nationwide services.
For instance, 0800 numbers are free for callers, with the charges being paid by the business, while 0845 numbers may incur a charge for callers depending on their phone package.
Some landline numbers are designed for specific services. For example, 0844 and 0871 numbers are often used by businesses to provide customer support or helplines.
Premium-rate numbers starting with 09 charge higher rates for specific services, such as technical and marketing support or entertainment lines or even via SMS.
As we’ve discussed, the dominant landline number type will become Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
These services can provide numbers resembling traditional landline numbers.
These numbers often include geographic or non-geographic codes, allowing businesses to appear as though they have a physical presence in a particular region.
What is a business telephone number
There are different types of business numbers in the UK, such as 0208, 0330 and toll-free. One of the big issues with a toll-free number is that even though the customer doesn’t pay for any call fees, the business providing the number does.
Business telephone numbers are the phone numbers that all types of businesses across the UK use to speak to their customers.
In years gone by, this was dominated by physical PSTN traditional phones that were plugged in at offices or work premises.
These days, most businesses have virtual or cloud numbers that divert to either a mobile or another fixed number that many people can answer.
Rather than having a physical number allocated to them by a phone company according to their location, they can now choose which area codes they’d prefer to use and have their calls broadcast via the Internet rather than a traditional phone line.
How do you tell if a number is landline or mobile?
Typically, when you receive a call on your mobile, you’ll be presented with the number calling you so that you can decide whether you want to answer the call.
You’ll always be able to tell whether another mobile number is calling you because the number will start with 07.
If the call is forwarded or you’re abroad, it may appear as +447, but the number will always have a 7 in the first three digits either way.
Traditional landlines have area codes that begin with 01 or 02. This is how you’ll know if it’s a landline number calling you.
However, because technology has improved over the years, it could be that virtual and cloud numbers are calling with these numbers, so it may not be a physical mobile or landline calling you, just the number.
How to get a virtual landline number – FREE landline number
Air Landline offers a free 7-day trial before paying any subscriptions for using your virtual landline number.
After this period, it’s £9.99 per month with VAT for your number and advanced call features.
We’re one of the most popular providers of virtual landline numbers in the UK and have helped thousands of customers move from traditional PSTN phone services to virtual and cloud phone numbers.
It couldn’t be any easier to sign up!
Select an area code
You have the choice of any area code across the UK, so it’s super simple to select the one that suits you best.
If you’re a residential customer that wants a number in your local area then you can pick one where you live.
For businesses, it’s often the case that they require a presence somewhere in the UK where they sell their products or services, and so if, for example, you’re based in London but need a local number for your customers in Manchester, then this is easily done.
Provide your details
All we need is your mobile number and email address, and you’re away, it really is that easy.
Once you’ve provided us with that simple information we’ll email your new virtual landline number over to you, and that’s it! Your account is set up and ready to use.
That’s it!
You would have been emailed your new virtual landline number, and that’s it! You’re ready to get started. Give your number a ring and check out all the free advanced call features that come with Air Landline!
How do I find out my landline number?
If you’re currently on a traditional PSTN phone line, then you can either phone your mobile from the handset that’s plugged into the BT Openreach socket and take a note of your number or log onto your customer portal with your phone provider, and they should be able to show you what your number is.
If you’re signing up to Air Landline, then you’ll be able to select your area code and then we’ll generate the rest for you.
Your number management area in Air Landline will then show you your virtual number whenever you need to check it, whether for advertising, giving to customers or to friends and family.
All you have to do is log into your number management account, and in the top right-hand corner, you’ll see the button titled “See My Number.” Once that button is clicked, you’ll be shown your number.
Benefits of landline phones
Landline phones have long been a reliable means of communication, offering several distinct advantages even in the age of mobile phones and internet-based services.
Here are some key benefits of landline phones:
- Reliable Connection: Landlines provide a stable and uninterrupted connection, making them ideal for use in areas with poor mobile reception or during network outages.
- Emergency Use: Landlines are linked to a fixed address, enabling emergency services to pinpoint your location quickly when you dial 999 or 112.
- Consistent Call Quality: They typically offer better sound quality compared to mobile phones, as landlines are less affected by interference or signal issues.
- No Need for Charging: Unlike mobile devices, landlines don’t rely on batteries and are always operational when plugged into the network.
- Support for Older Technologies: Many landlines are compatible with fax machines and traditional modems, which are still used in some industries.
Limitations of landline phones
While landline phones offer many advantages, they also come with certain limitations that may make them less practical for modern lifestyles.
Here are some drawbacks:
- Lack of Mobility: Landlines are fixed to a location, meaning you can’t take them with you like a mobile phone.
- Cost of Installation and Maintenance: Setting up a landline and maintaining the infrastructure can be expensive compared to mobile services.
- Declining Usage: With the increasing adoption of mobile and internet-based communication, fewer people use landlines, reducing their relevance.
- Limited Features: Landlines lack the versatility of modern smartphones, such as apps, internet browsing, and advanced multimedia functions.
- Vulnerability During Power Outages: Some modern landline phones connected to digital networks or cordless systems require power to operate, making them unreliable during blackouts.
- Environmental Impact: The infrastructure for landlines, including extensive wiring and telephone poles, can have a significant environmental footprint.
- Limited Compatibility with Modern Needs: Landlines do not support features like texting, video calls, or instant messaging, which are standard on mobile devices.
FAQ
We often field questions and advise our thousands of customers about landlines, phone numbers, traditional PSTN network lines, and what it means to switch to an online provider.
Here are some of the most common questions we get.
This meant that phone numbers issued to customers who had a physical phone were fixed to a particular location and transmitted via cabling and fibre wiring.
This has changed in recent years, and now, much more phone traffic is transmitted via Internet signals.
A phone number is just an identifier of where a voice call needs to be directed to and can be either landline, mobile or virtual.
When the PSTN network or the traditional older network was first created these prefix numbers helped the network to identify where the call needed to be directed through a system of exchanges.
It’s still useful to have this prefix for customers and businesses to know where a number could be located or where it is represented.
The US, for example, is +1, whereas Spain is +34. These prefixes show you which country the call is being directed to or from and what is a landline in the number.
Summary – What is a landline?
A landline traditionally meant a fixed physical phone line installed at a property either for a residential or business customer.
The area code and phone number were generated based on this location, and the information was transmitted using a physical handset.
These landlines were also, at one point, widely used for fax machines and broadband or modem-based internet connections.
As the network developed over time, BT Openreach, with a multitude of partners and with help from the government, decided it no longer made sense to run this network as it had been before, and it was considered whether to close it.
Technology now allows for the vast majority of calls to be transmitted over the internet meaning that there is less and less need for the same physical infrastructure that once existed or a landline phone number with a physical phone or SIP.
Landlines will cease to exist as they once did in 2027. However, we’re still able to use and claim these UK landline numbers via virtual providers who can allow us to choose numbers based on different area codes and forward these calls on and add extra features such as a phone system for a much more affordable price than before.