Consumers hang up on the landline

Consumers across the world are abandoning fixed line phones in droves and replacing them with mobiles for all their voice calls, research conducted by Mori has found.

According to the study, conducted for Nokia, fixed-to-mobile substitution is occurring across the four major markets surveyed - the UK, US, Germany and South Korea - with upwards of 45 million consumers estimated to now make all their voice calls from their mobile phone in these markets alone.

Among the first global surveys of this consumer trend, the research also claims that mobiles could ultimately challenge fixed line connections for data access in the home.

On average, those who claim that they are 'certain' or 'very likely' to adopt a wireless service for data expect this to happen in one to two years. Interest is greatest among the young and those who already have broadband access at home.

The research confirms that the landline remains the connection of choice for longer calls from the home, with the exception of shorter calls to friends and to other mobile phones, although differences do emerge by market.

The rational motivations for maintaining a landline subscription focus on price perceptions. For example, 69 per cent of respondents in Britain considered cost to be the key reason for choosing fixed line calls ahead of mobile calls, more than in any other country.

However, the need for a landline for data, and the greater perceived reliability of the landline phone, are important criteria in the minds of US and German consumers.

Emotional reasons to keep a landline were found to exert a surprisingly strong force on consumers. These centre on the association of the landline with the home and the 'cosiness' of the call experience.

The research reveals that, regardless of some reservations, there exists a view among respondents that the future will inevitably be wireless.

The perception is that wireless technology will improve, the quality and reliability issues will become less important, and data will be available through a wireless network for home internet users. For these reasons the perceived value of the landline subscription is decreasing.

A perception of a higher price differential between a mobile and landline also needs to be addressed in all markets.

However, in many instances respondents were unaware of the actual price differential between their landline and mobile phone.

Several anticipated that, on comparing the total cost of their mobile subscription with the overall cost of their landline subscription, the price differential would be minimal and might actually favour the mobile.

The most fertile market for fixed-to-mobile substitution was found to be the young professional group, who use their mobile phone for most of their voice calls. They are more likely to be male, in the middle to high income brackets, and make a large volume of voice calls.