Thanks, Omah!
That’s very useful.
As I’ve had my home phone for a lot of years, it suggests will have to go!
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There are plenty of “pensioner” handsets out there with big buttons and not touch screens.
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No you won’t, you just stick on silent when you don’t want it interrupting you or you can just ignore it (works for me). And use the voice to text (or vice versa) or just tell the phone what you want it to do.
The mobile phone is so much cheaper to use than a landline anyway
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I know what you mean Jazzi, and I have to carry my mobile out with me wherever I go. It was costing me a fortune to keep calling Mrs Fox to let her know where I was and that I’m okay. So I’ve just gone on a contract with Vodafone. £6 a month and unlimited calls and texts (although I shan’t be using the texts) that works out at half of what I was paying on PAYG, plus I get 4Gb of data if I ever want to upgrade to a smartphone (unlikely but not out of the question)
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Agreed, OGF, please don’t tell anyone, but I do the same as you!
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What? and look like a decrepit old codger who isn’t street cred?
Where might I buy one of these phones?
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There’s lots of info available about these changes and they answer many of the concerns people have.
I found a Which article quite useful
I wondered how people who currently did not use broadband and did not want to would get on when the old telephone network finishes and the landline has to be plugged in via a broadband modem and this article answered that.
What if I don’t have or want a broadband connection?
Those who currently only have a landline won’t be forced to pay for broadband services that they don’t want or need. Their digital phone service will work using a special dedicated broadband connection and shouldn’t cost any more than what they pay now. BT has made a specific commitment to telecoms regulator Ofcom that its customers will pay the same amount, and Virgin Media says its voice-only customers will get the hub necessary for its digital phone services at no additional cost.
Read more: Digital Voice and the landline phone switch-off: what it means for you - Which? - Which?
My main concern is what happens during a power cut or if your electricity is cut off and you need to make call.
This article explained some workaround ideas but I still have some concerns about this aspect of it.
Do digital voice services work if there’s a power cut?
A positive aspect of analogue phone services is that they continue to work in a power outage. That’s not true of digital services. For many, a lack of a landline won’t be too much of a concern, as 98% of British adults have a mobile phone. Mobile voice calls don’t require 4G or 5G, and Ofcom says nearly all of the UK’s properties get reception that’s strong enough for indoor calls from at least one of the phone networks. If you call 999, it doesn’t matter which provider you’re signed up to, your mobile phone will connect to whichever network is available. But those who don’t have access to a mobile phone must not be left without a way to seek help in an emergency. Landline/broadband providers are responsible for additional protections to ensure customers can reach emergency services. BT is supplying vulnerable customers with a battery backup that will ensure digital phone services will work for an additional hour if an outage occurs. Virgin Media’s solution for those who need it is a device with its own battery that allows the landline phone to connect to mobile phone services.
Read more: Digital Voice and the landline phone switch-off: what it means for you - Which? - Which?
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Thanks, Boot, it’s becoming clearer.
If I fall down I don’t want to be looking for a BT supplied adapter, which will probably be somewhere I will forget.
I’m going to shout at Alexa, that works.
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A mobile phone is independent of your house power and even in a prolonged outage you can charge the phone from your car or a power bank.
Cordless house phones still need power.
As it happens my Fibre modem and router have an uninteruptable power supply which will keep them going for a couple of hours so the internet is still available for your phone and laptop.
The only time the fact that a landline remained usable in a power outage was if it was a localised power failure, in the case of a major emergency both the old fashioned telephone service and the mobile phone service would become over loaded and unusable. The major difference is that doubling or tripling the capacity of the mobile service can be done overnight with mobile units something not possible with the old telephone service
Thanks, Omah, have just placed the order!
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Thanks Melgal and Omah… 
Here is my current communications equipment. It’s basic but does the job, and being of a clamshell design I can stick it in my rucksack or pocket. It is quite robust and has survived many drops, bangs and scrapes, and mainly falls from the operator when suffering blackouts…
I suspect the battery may outlive me the way I carry on…
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Quaint but unnecessary there are apps such as “Huge Keyboard” that make the keys on an Android or Iphone much bigger and more readable than those on that phone. Most modern phones have a bigger screen that that entire phone.
Even without the app the keyboard on an android can be resized with Swiftkey.
It may be quaint but it’s only £26.50 … 
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You get what you pay for I guess.
Well, if it’s all you can afford or are prepared to pay … 
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Yes, you will. And the disturbing thing is, despite internet calls being cheaper for the companies, they have said they will not raise prices above inflaton for phone only customers. 
Which is dodgy thinking to say the least. BT are pushing this through, not it’s customers & it’s BT who save money, not it’s customers. I am glad I am not with BT.
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It bothers me because the last time I experienced a power outage, the mobile signal failed too and it was off for the same amount of time.
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I changed my broadband supplier recently from Talktalk to OVO. The new Voip modem router meant the landline phone had to be connected to the router. My old phone did not work properly so I bought a new set of dect phones. They still were unreliable and kept cutting out. I am now back with Talktalk and the phone is now back in the master socket.
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Sky offer it too (Sky Talk Internet Calls). My landline phone is plugged into my router rather than the BT wall box.
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