Landlines Set To Disappear Within Five Years Say CIOs

Landlines are set to disappear from the workplace within five years, according to new research from Virgin Media Business.

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) asked 500 chief information officers about their thoughts on the future of the medium and 65 percent said they believed fixed lines would become a thing of the past.

CIOs are increasingly placing more importance on the smartphone, which only 13 percent thought would be abandoned in the coming years. This contrasts favourably with the 62 percent who believe that PCs will become obsolete and the 24 percent who see tablets as nothing more than a fad that will fall out of fashion.

Landlines set to go

Virgin Media Business said the sophistication of mobile technology meant that they were essential tools for working on the move but that tablet technology still had a long way to go to justify itself.

“The pace of change with technology is having a transformative effect on the way we work. A decade ago it would have been unthinkable to suggest an office without telephones,” said Tony Grace, chief operating officer at Virgin Media Business. “Now it’s hard to imagine being separated from our smartphones.”

“Mobile connections to the internet are getting better by the day. Commuters in London can now access Wi-Fi under the streets of the city at stations across the Underground network.

“Almost everywhere we go we’re able to check-in at the office, social networking sites, or simply contact friends and family everywhere we go.

“Because of this, businesses have recognised the importance of the mini computers that smartphones have essentially become.”

More than half of the UK population now uses a smartphone and in February the Competition Appeals Tribunal ruled that the wholesale cost of calling a mobile phone from a landline is set to fall by 85 percent by April 2015.

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