BT Landline-Only Customers Will Get A Discount, Ofcom Rules

Almost 80% of the UK’s landline-only customers are with BT.

If you’re one of the more than two million people who only have a landline with BT then we’ve got some good news for you.

Ofcom has unveiled plans to give these customers a discount of at least £5 off their monthly bill.

Open Image Modal
oneinchpunch via Getty Images

The initiative is designed to target the UK’s most vulnerable customers, many of whom have remained with BT for many years and have neither the capability or the support to find a better deal.

In its research it found that of those two million customers, 43 per cent are aged over 75 and that 70 per cent of them have never switched their provider.

Sharon White, Ofcom Chief Executive, said in a statement: “Line rental has been going up, even as providers’ costs come down. This hurts people who rely on their landline the most, and are less likely to shop around for a better deal. We think that’s unacceptable.

Open Image Modal
Bloomberg via Getty Images

At the moment customers who only take a landline from BT pay around £18.99 per month.

Meanwhile providers like Sky, Virgin are offering unlimited broadband deals with line rental included for the same amount.

Under the new plans however Ofcom will reduce the landline only charge from £18.99 to at least £13.99.

In a statement Ofcom said: “Almost 80% (2.3m) of the UK’s 2.9m landline-only customers are with BT.”

“Ofcom has found that BT’s market power has allowed it to increase prices without much risk of losing customers. Other providers have then followed BT’s pricing lead.”

The organisation will look to get views on a £5-7 reduction in monthly cost for landline prices with the hope being that once BTs prices go down so to will its competition’s.

5 Retro Icons That Have Been Brought Back To Life

1. Nokia 3310
Nokia3310
Back when the Nokia 3310 was the height of sophistication (yes, 2000 was such a time) we would have given our right arm to have access to the technology afforded us by the arrival of the smartphone.

But because we are gluttons for punishment (and weeks of battery life) the return of the iconic mobile in 2017 has us all pining for snake and wondering if perhaps we should ditch our iPhones once and for all.
2. Nintendo Classic Mini
Nintendo
Gamers around the UK rejoiced when it was announced that the ultimate retro games console - the Nintendo Mini Classic – would be making a comeback in November 2016.

Famous for introducing us all to our childhood heroes, Donkey Kong, Mario and Zelda, the Mini Classic was a slice of nostalgia that we couldn’t resist putting on our Christmas list. It’s like 1985 all over again.
3. Sega Mega Drive
GamesMaster Magazine via Getty Images
If you thought Sega were going to roll over and let Nintendo re-release the Mini Classic without a fight, you were wrong.

Reigniting a decade-old feud between the classic nineties gaming consoles (that feels a little like being in the playground), shortly after Nintendo announced the news, the Sega Mega Drive followed suit.
4. Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images
If you thought that Nintendo and Sega were a blast from the past, remember when an IndieGoGo campaign tried to relaunch the ZX Spectrum?

Back in December 2014, the console that couldn't load a tape without making enough noise to wake up your parents, was given £155k in crowdfunding to get it back in our bedrooms.
5. Lomography Instant Camera
AOL
It seems inevitable, given our current obsession with Instagram and all things Polaroid-esque, that we’d eventually go back to where it all began and embrace the instant film camera (and not just in a digital format).

Re-launched at the end of 2014 after a Kickstarter campaign, the Lomo Instant gave consumers all the nostalgia you could want with a faux-leather retro design and that feeling of having physical prints in your hand without having to use a computer.