Despite more people choosing to use mobile devices to keep in touch, traditional landline telephones remain very much in demand.

Amalgamated Telecom Holdings Limited Chief Executive, Ivan Fong says landline phones are still there and are an important part of a lot of businesses and communities as well.

He adds there is room to evolve the use of landlines.

“But one of the things we are seeing in many markets as well is the landline voice phones are being converted to broadband. So Telecom Fiji for example, in Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Samoa and American Samoa the landline is serving as the next step to connect a home via fixed broadband either a fibre or wireless type solution. So it’s just an evolution from a voice service to a broadband service.”

Fong says though there is a slight decline in the use of landlines, a lot of people are not fully versed with smartphones and would rather keep to traditional phones.