Home phone Guides

Telephone services in the UK

Updated: Monday 23 January, 2012

By Anthony Hill - anthony.hill@consumerchoices.co.uk

Need a new landline but confused about the different types of line available? Take a look at the telephone services on offer and choose one to suit you.

There are two types of landline service in the UK: ADSL copper wire lines and cable lines. Copper wire phone lines are used by providers such as BT, TalkTalk, Primus and Sky, whereas cable phone lines are only offered by Virgin Media.

But which telephone service should you choose? We take a look at the pros and cons of ADSL copper wire phone lines versus cable phone lines…

Copper wire “ADSL” telephone services

BT has a Universal Service Obligation (USO), which means it has a duty to provide every residential property in the UK (except homes in the Hull area, which are served by Kingston Communications) with a fixed phone line. Since the provider was privatised in the 1980s, it began offering wholesale line rental, allowing other providers to use its network.

These providers, including YourCalls.net, the Post Office and Direct Save, choose to offer home phone and broadband services at different price points from BT, making them an ideal choice if you’re looking to save money on your landline bills and believe one of their tariffs will suit you.

If you opt for a copper wire phone line, you can choose from a number of home phone providers, including:

• BT (www.bt.com)
• Direct Save Telecom (www.directsavetelecom.co.uk)
• Post Office (www.postoffice.co.uk)
• Primus Saver (www.primussaver.co.uk)
• YourCalls.net (www.yourcalls.net)

Some providers offer telephone services through their own networks, separate from BT’s network. This is called Local Loop Unbundling, or LLU.

These providers still use the traditional “ADSL” copper wire though, so opting for one of these providers will not require any physical labour at your property. The big advantage of these services is the cost - installation is cheap, and landline rates are a lot cheaper than BT, particularly if you bundle your phone and broadband together.

Providers that offer phone services on their own networks include:

• TalkTalk (www.talktalk.co.uk)
• Sky (www.sky.com)
• Plusnet (www.plus.net)

The one disadvantage of opting for an LLU copper phone service is switching provider at a later stage. If you decide that you’d like to switch again, getting back on the BT network can be expensive, with BT charging up to £130.

Read our guide, switching from an LLU provider, for more information.

Providers using copper wire phone lines

Virgin Media’s cable telephone service

If you think that a cable phone line would suit your household more, you’ll have to have a new line installed by Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com). Virgin Media is the only cable phone line provider in the UK.

Virgin Media’s cable phone and broadband services are available to just over 50% of homes in the UK, so before you decide to get a cable phone line connected, you should check you can get Virgin Media.

Virgin Media is also perfect if you only want broadband and/or TV services, and have no need for a landline, though you should be aware that prices are more expensive without Virgin Media phone line rental.

Cable phone line packages

Which telephone service should I choose?

The telephone service you choose will depend on several things, such as how much you are willing to pay for your line rental, what calls package you need and whether you want to bundle your home phone with your broadband.

It will also depend on what is available at your address. Use the Homephonechoices.co.uk postcode checker to see which providers offer services in your area, and to compare landline prices to get the best deal.