The landline phone is on borrowed time and if you're with one of the major networks such as BT or Virgin Media you might have received a letter telling you to get ready for the change.   The old copper phone network will be completely switched off by the end of 2025 but many customers are being encouraged to make the change sooner.   The important thing to keep in mind is that if you find yourself buying a new landline handset anytime from now on, make sure you get one that's compatible with 'digital voice' or 'IP voice' or VOIP.   That means the phone handset will plug into your WiFI router and the same goes for any answering machine service you might use.   The major companies should be providing guidance on where to buy compatible equipment and what to do if you don't have wifi or even broadband internet at all.   Special arrangements will be put in place for vulnerable customers and there are issues to resolve around battery backups because landline phones relying on the internet won't work at all in a power cut or if your internet goes down.   No-one knows exactly how those issues will be resolved or who qualifies as 'vulnerable' and it's important to stress nothing is being switched off right now. It's just about awareness.   Sp speak to your telephone providers and there's also some good impartial advice at which.co.uk   Finally a quick teaser for you - how many Google searches do you think are conducted every day?   Latest figures from Internet Live Stats claim the answer is 8.5 billion.

Ver todos los episodios