Do you need a landline for broadband?

But with the rise of the internet and mobile phones, landlines are becoming all but obsolete. More and more people are opting to go without, instead relying on their smartphones to do all the work that home phones used to do… and more.

In this article, we’ll look at if you still need a landline at all, and the circumstances where you do and don’t.

Do I need a landline for broadband?

In short: not necessarily. It depends on both the type of broadband you want, and what broadband connections are available to your address.

To understand why, we need to separate two aspects of the way your home’s connected that were, in the past, always bundled together: the physical line entering your home, and the landline telephone service that uses it.

For many years, you needed an active telephone services from a provider like BT to be able to get broadband. The landline ‘voice’ service itself was the main service, and broadband was like an add-on service. And while the landline would use a copper (and later, fibre) cable to work, the broadband would need to operate using the same cable.

In fact, dial-up internet – which preceded broadband – used the exact same frequency as your phone line, which is why you couldn’t use both the home phone and the internet at the same time. Thankfully, broadband solved this issue by using different frequency bands for data and voice.

Nowadays, newer broadband technologies are able to bypass the phone line completely, meaning they don’t need a landline to work at all. The latest in broadband technology is called Full Fibre broadband (also known as ‘Fibre to the Premises’ or ‘FTTP’), and if you have access to it, you don’t need a landline.

Which types of broadband need a phone line?

Why doesn’t FTTP need a landline to work?

FTTP, or Full Fibre, doesn’t need a landline because it exclusively uses fibre optic cables that run directly from the exchange to your home, eliminating the need for traditional copper phone lines.

This means the internet connection is provided through fibre optics only, without having to rely on the existing phone line infrastructure.

How can I get internet without a phone line in the UK?

If you’ve decided to give up on the traditional phone line, the best and most future-proof option is to get Full Fibre broadband.

This is the current gold standard of modern internet connectivity, as it uses the latest technology. As well as not needing a home phone line to operate, you get lightning-fast speeds because fibre optic cables are used throughout, which carry data at practically the speed of light.

UW’s Full Fibre packages can reach blistering speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps). This is perfect for keeping up with the smart tech in your home. And because it doesn’t rely on copper cables at any point of the journey, it experiences minimal slowdown compared to Part Fibre. Read our handy guide about FTTP vs FTTC broadband for more in-depth information about the two types of fibre connection.

While not all addresses in the UK are Full Fibre-ready yet, it’s being steadily rolled out across the nation. Read our guide ‘Can I get fibre broadband in my area?’ to see what kinds of fibre broadband are available to you and how to check.

Mobile broadband is another option, and uses the same technology as your smartphone. It uses a router fitted with a SIM to create a Wi-Fi network in your home. It’s quick and easy to set up, and in areas with a strong 5G coverage, it can be almost as fast as FTTC broadband. However, performance can be affected by network congestion and signal strength, and many plans come with data caps.

Satellite broadband is an option for more remote parts of the UK where other options aren’t possible. A dish installed on your property will communicate with a satellite in orbit, and you’ll often get as high speeds as Full Fibre and unlimited data. The downsides are that satellite broadband is typically more expensive, with higher hardware and monthly costs. Latency (also known as ‘ping’) can also be higher, which can be a problem for online gamers.

Will I still need to pay for line rental if I don’t have a landline?

No – one of the convenient things about Full Fibre is that, because you don’t need a landline to use it, you can choose to cancel your line rental and stop paying for it altogether.

Historically, your bill is split into two parts: the line rental and the broadband package. The charge for the line rental is for maintaining the copper phone line network and/or providing you with a dial tone and landline number. Since 2016, the Advertising Standards Authority has mandated that telecoms providers mustn’t advertise their broadband and line rental costs separately, but instead display all-in-one prices for better transparency.

So for ADSL and FTTC broadband, you’ll just see one ‘line rental’ charge on your bill, which encompasses both your home phone and your broadband service.

But if you have a Full Fibre connection, the price you see is purely the price of the broadband connection, because the Full Fibre network itself is totally independent.

So, is it cheaper to get broadband without a landline?

It depends on the current package you have and the one you’re switching to. You may save a couple of pounds a month without the standalone landline rental charges, but Full Fibre packages can be more expensive than FTTC and ADSL packages.

However, the significantly faster speeds and more reliable connection of Full Fibre can make the overall experience better value for money.

If you’re opting for 4G or 5G mobile broadband, it could be cheaper at first – but the more data you use, the more expensive it can get. So if you’re a particularly heavy internet user, it may be less cost-effective.

Do I need to keep my landline?

As copper phone lines are being phased out, telecommunications in the UK are working towards a digital switchover.

The traditional telephone network, known as the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network), is being retired. This is the analogue network that’s powered our phone calls for over a century. BT Openreach, which maintains the network, aimed to switch it off completely by 2025, and this has since been delayed to 2027 – but you can no longer buy legacy services that’ll be affected by the switchover.

But what does this mean for people who still use and rely on their landlines?

Thankfully, the switchover doesn’t mean your home phone service will disappear. Instead, it’ll be replaced by a digital service, known as Digital Voice or VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). Instead of using copper cables, your voice calls will be transmitted as data over your internet connection. And instead of plugging into a socket on the wall, you’ll plug it directly into your broadband router.

The change is mandatory and will affect everyone with a landline currently using the old PSTN system, regardless of their provider. But don’t worry – your provider will contact you well in advance to manage the switch. For most people, the switch will be simple, and you’ll be able to keep your existing phone number.