Do you still need a landline for broadband?

The answer used to be yes, and it is now genuinely no — but the details depend entirely on which network reaches your home. Getting this wrong is how people end up paying £10 a month for a dial tone they have not used since 2019.

You do not need a landline service to get broadband. On full fibre and cable networks there is no phone line at all — voice, if you want it, runs over the internet. On part-fibre (FTTC) the connection still travels over the old copper phone line, but you can buy broadband on its own without a phone package. What you cannot do is avoid the copper wire itself on FTTC.

It depends on the network, not the provider

Three cases, and they behave differently.

• Full fibre (FTTP) — no phone line exists. The fibre terminates at an optical box, the router plugs into that. If you want a landline number, it is delivered as a digital service over the same connection.
• Cable (HFC) — same position. Coaxial cable to the wall, no phone line involved. Cable providers have sold phone service alongside broadband for years, but it has always been a VoIP product riding on the broadband, not a separate line.
• Part-fibre (FTTC) — the signal travels over the copper phone line from the street cabinet. You do not have to buy a phone service, but the line exists and is what carries your broadband. This is the only case where the old distinction has any meaning.

Why providers still push phone packages

Bundling voice with broadband raises the average revenue per customer and makes the broadband headline price look lower by comparison. It is also sticky: cancelling a phone number means losing it, which people are reluctant to do even when they never call from it.

If you want to keep the number without a traditional line, ask for a digital voice service instead. It is usually cheaper, works over the broadband, and keeps the number. The catch is that it stops working in a power cut unless you have battery backup on the router — worth knowing if anyone in the household relies on the line for emergencies. Ofcom requires providers to offer a free back-up solution to customers who rely solely on a landline.

The copper retirement changes the question

The telephone network that FTTC depends on is being switched off, with the process planned to complete in the late 2020s. After that, the copper line stops carrying anything: FTTC customers must move to a fibre service, and analogue phones stop working entirely without a digital replacement.

This matters for two groups in particular. People with a legacy line they keep purely for a burglar alarm or a fax machine need to check that the device will still work on a digital service — many will not. And anyone in a rural area still on copper should check what fibre option exists at their address before the switch-off forces the decision.

What to do if you are paying for a line you do not use

• Check whether the phone charge is a separate line item on your bill. If it is, ask to remove it — on FTTP and cable this is straightforward.
• If your contract bundles voice into the headline price, removing it may not reduce the bill, but it should at least be possible at renewal.
• If you are on FTTC and paying for a phone service you do not use, ask for a data-only package. Most large providers offer one, though it is rarely the default shown on the website.
• If you want to keep the number, port it to a digital voice provider before cancelling — once a number is released, it usually cannot be recovered.