It's a fair question. Everyone has a mobile, calls can run over the internet, and customers message as much as they ring. So does your business genuinely still need a landline - and if so, what kind? Here's an honest answer that isn't trying to sell you something you don't need.

What a landline really gives you

Strip away the technology and a business landline provides three things:

  • A fixed, recognisable number customers can save and trust.
  • A consistent point of contact that isn't tied to one person's mobile.
  • A way to route calls to the right person, department or voicemail.

The question isn't really "do I need copper?" - almost nobody does now. It's "do I still need a fixed business number and proper call handling?" For most businesses, the answer to that is yes.

When a fixed line still earns its place

A business number still makes sense if you:

  • Take customer calls and want to look established. An 0161 or 020 number reads very differently from a personal mobile.
  • Have more than one person who might answer, so you need calls to ring in the right place. See our multi-line phone systems guide.
  • Want to keep work and personal separate, rather than handing out staff mobile numbers.
  • Need reliability and call features like divert, voicemail-to-email and out-of-hours routing.

The good news: you get all of this from a modern digital line or hosted telephony system - no copper required.

When you might not need one

Being honest, a fixed line is harder to justify if you're:

  • A sole trader who's happy giving out a mobile and rarely takes scheduled calls.
  • Purely field-based with no office and no shared phone duties.
  • Entirely digital, where customers only ever message, email or book online.

Even then, many one-person businesses still choose a fixed number to look more professional and keep their mobile private - and a hosted "number that rings your mobile" setup gives exactly that without a physical line.

The trap to avoid: clinging to copper

Where businesses do go wrong is keeping an old analogue line "just in case". The copper network (the PSTN) is being switched off by 31 January 2027, and the cost of legacy lines is rising sharply in the meantime - see our guide to the 2026 line rental price rises. Paying more each quarter for a line you barely use, on a network that's closing, is the worst of both worlds.

So what should most businesses do?

For the majority, the sensible path is:

  1. Keep your number - it ports across, as we explain in keeping your landline number.
  2. Drop the copper - move to a digital line or hosted system.
  3. Right-size it - one number that rings a mobile for a sole trader; a proper system with DDI for a team.

You can sanity-check what a fixed line should cost in our business phone line cost guide, and compare the old and new worlds in VoIP vs traditional phone lines.

The bottom line

Most businesses still benefit from a fixed business number and proper call handling - they just no longer need a copper landline to get it. Keep the number, lose the legacy line, and pay for what you actually use. Want help working out the right setup? Explore our Cloud Telephony service or request a callback.

Frequently asked questions

Do businesses still need a landline?

Most businesses still benefit from a fixed business number and proper call handling, but they no longer need a traditional copper landline to get it. A digital line or hosted phone system provides the same fixed number with more features.

Can I just use a mobile for my business instead of a landline?

You can, especially as a sole trader, but a fixed business number looks more established, keeps your personal mobile private and makes it easier to share call answering across a team.

Is it worth keeping my old analogue landline?

Generally no. The copper network is being switched off by January 2027 and legacy line prices are rising steeply through 2026, so keeping an unused analogue line costs more for less.

What replaces a business landline?

A digital phone line that plugs into your router, or a hosted telephony system that runs over the internet. Both keep your existing number while removing the need for copper.