As markets go, revolution has been the byword for the fixed-line sector as it has undergone major rescaping in the past few years. It finds itself competing for voice business in a deregulated yet declining market, where a deflationary spiral is driving call revenues downwards, and where mobile telephony is rapidly gaining ground and establishing itself as a default choice for increasing numbers of phone users.

Established players in the market have watched as an influx of new market entrants try to seize a slice of the declining fixed voice market with their bundled offerings. The telecoms customer is a winner in all this, as the cost of household voice and Internet services has dramatically reduced.

And as the majority of UK households now feature a broadband connection, the Internet is becoming the main communications gateway for the home. The household market has morphed from narrowband to broadband, and next-generation voice services are being developed over digital and wireless capability – the concept of the traditional residential fixed line is disappearing in a world of converging technologies.

The report defines fixed line as telecommunications lines that are not wire-free but connected to physical points.