Many of us consider our landline a complete waste of money. We have smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S4, a Google Nexus 4, a Sony Xperia Z, or an iPhone 5 and we spend a fortune to be able to get unlimited calls and texts on the service. We therefore rarely use our landline and only ever really pick it up to make 0800 phone calls. With new applications it's now possible to make 0800 calls for free through your mobile too. So what really is the point?
Indeed, it leads us to the question do we really need a landline?
Yes, we do.
The simple answer is yes we do if we need to get ADSL Broadband. ADSL runs over the copper cables of the BT telephone infrastructure and therefore we need to have an active line and we need to pay line rental. In this case, we need to start looking for the cheapest line rental we can find in order to keep the expense down or even look for deals where we can get several months line rental for free, making it the cheapest line rental package over the course of the contract.
ADSL technology is the most abundant form of internet for fixed line connections with around 99% of the UK being able to get on ADSL. Fibre optic broadband is much faster though.
Fibre Optic Broadband
With fibre optic broadband, you don't necessarily need to get the cheapest line rental; in fact you don't to get any line rental at all. It's possible to get fibre-to-the-home connections where you have the copper cables completely bypassed and you have fibre optic cables run all the way to your home.
With this type of connection, you can use a VoIP provider for you telephone calls and you can avoid having any charges for line rental. The problem is that the cheapest BT Broadband fibre optic broadband package is the same expense as the most expensive ADSL package including line rental. So you're unlikely to save any money. Indeed, many of the fibre optic broadband packages also do pass over your phone connection for the last portion of the journey, so you need an active line for at least the activation period. If you don't have a telephone line installed, this can be a problem as a telephone line installation costs generally around 130.
Mobile Broadband
You could of course opt for mobile broadband and completely bypass the telephone and land-based infrastructure. Mobile broadband works off the mobile broadband telephone networks and their telephone masts. Mobile broadband is getting better and better with 4G connectivity arriving around the UK. The US and many European countries have already seen 4G arrive, and it's a mainstay of broadband provision for many people around the world.
What is 4G?
4G is the fastest form of mobile broadband to date, offering speeds that can theoretically go above 100Mbps on download and theoretically between 40 and 50Mbps on upload. So far Everything Everywhere has released their network having been the first to get out into the market and they are seeing speeds of 8 to 12Mbps to average consumers. This is as fast as the average fixed line broadband through ADSL and so it's becoming a viable option for home broadband and main broadband provision. The challenge however is that it is more expensive on data and of course you are at the mercy of the service you can get where you are living.
The 4G connectivity has hit around 50% of the UK through Everything Everywhere and we're expecting around 97% to 99% of the population to receive decent 4G connectivity within the next year or so. Vodafone, O2, and 3 Mobile are releasing their networks sometime in 2013 with their release dates seemingly put back and back due to slight complications. However, when they do arrive, they'll be increased competition in the market, and there will be real options for consumers to choose 4G connectivity for their homes.
With the addition of Wi-Fi hotspots for mobile broadband, it's possible to get multiple devices on the same internet connection and mobile broadband becomes far more akin to ADSL or fibre optic broadband. Of course, with mobile broadband, you don't need to have a landline and so it is of course the cheapest landline rental package with a zero cost.
Satellite Broadband
Some people are in the unfortunate situation that they can't get broadband through ADSL because they simply can't get a landline. Indeed, if you live a long way from the telephone exchange, then the speed can degrade so much that it's impossible to get a connectivity above old dial-up speeds or even less. Therefore, it's important for these people to make a different choice and sometimes satellite broadband is the only option.
Satellite broadband has improved and now we have speeds upwards of 10Mbps, however, installation fees are hefty up to around 700 for hardware and installation with entry level prices tending to be around 300 for hardware only.
Costs per month average around 25 for a fairly meagre allowance compared to the unlimited packages we see on Sky, BE Broadband, and BT ADSL, and therefore it is an expensive and unattractive option for many. But if you can't get a telephone line, then it may be the best option for you.
The Cheapest Landline Rental Deals
It's important that you watch out for the cheapest landline rental deals because some of them are a little bit misleading. For example, you may see advertised landline monthly cost of 10 per month, but then you have to pay for a full year upfront in order to gain access to these deals. This type of payment upfront along with other expenses may be out of your reach.
Make sure you read the small print of any broadband service that you're looking at in order to ensure that you understand the full cost of the package, and so that you compare like for like rather than getting a shock when you end up seeing your monthly bill or working out how much you spend over the course of a year.
When Sam Jones's son was moving into student accommodation he needed the cheapest line rental deal. Phil helped him find a great one to fit into his tight budget by shopping around on price comparison sites like uSwitch 
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