4get Ur Moby Or Txt Msgs – We Brits Lol* 2 Call R M8s

June 8, 2009 - PRLog -- * LOVE OUR LANDLINES

Home phone is still their most loved medium for calling friends
West Country uses home phone most to phone friends
TalkTalk has introduced free local calls to keep people talking

Britons are a nation of ‘landline lovers’, according TalkTalk, after its research found that the home phone is still the number one tool for a good old fashioned natter with our friends.

Indeed while many commentators have written off the landline in the era of mobiles and text messaging, nearly half of Britons (47%) still prefer to use their home phone to call  friends, compared to just 32% who use their mobiles.

The most ardent landline lovers are in the South West where 60% of people choose their home phone to call friends, followed by those in Yorkshire (55%) and Scotland (52%). Londoners use their home phone least to phone friends – but still manage a healthy 40%.

However, the credit crunch has curbed the freedom with which we phone our friends, with the research showing that overall Britons were forced to make nearly 10% fewer calls to friends than they were this time last year, in a bid to save cash. So with 72% of our closest friends living within 15 minutes of us TalkTalk has pledged to help people stay in touch with most of our friends by making local calls free at anytime.

Wendy Becker, TalkTalk’s managing director, said: “We know the internet is an extremely convenient way to keep in touch with friends, but nothing can match the intimacy of a telephone conversation.

“We think it’s particularly worrying that the credit crunch is forcing people to cut back on phoning their friends. So we’ve launched free local calls anytime for our customers, with the aim of helping friends stay in touch locally.”

Table one: Regional variation in using landline to phone friends

   Region   Prefer landline to phone friends
   South West   60%
   Yorkshire & Humberside   55%
   Scotland   52%
   Wales   51%
   East Midlands   47%
   West Midlands   47%
   North East   45%
   East Anglia   44%
   South East   43%
   North West   42%
   London   40%

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About TalkTalk
TalkTalk, launched in February 2003, is the home phone and broadband company from The Carphone Warehouse, the third-largest broadband provider in the UK. It now has 2.8 million broadband customers signed up to TalkTalk and AOL Broadband, which it acquired in October 2006.

The TalkTalk fully unbundled network now extends to approximately 1,700 exchanges, covering 80% of the UK population, with 78% of TalkTalk customers now on its own network.

In uSwitch’s Customer Satisfaction Report in 2008, TalkTalk was voted the best value for money home phone provider and the best value for money bundle (combining home phone and broadband). This is the most comprehensive survey of UK telephone and broadband suppliers, and is based on the verdicts of over 10,000 home phone and 11,000 broadband customers.

In November 2008, TalkTalk became the first phone and broadband package to move away from the ‘one size fits all’ package. myTalkTalk delivers value through choice by enabling customers to tailor a package that suits them. myTalkTalk provides essential, an award-winning 8Mb broadband service along with a great value phone bundle. Boost products can be added for £4 a month and enable customers to upgrade their internet security, speed and download limits as well as access great phone deals such as ½ price mobile calls, anytime calls and calling features.

Follow TalkTalk on Twitter and on our blog: www.twitter.com/talktalktips and www.talktalkblog.co.uk