Broadband With or Without a Landline: Which Providers Still Offer One

You may have heard that landlines are “being switched off”. The old copper phone network is being retired, but home phones are not disappearing: most major broadband providers still sell one, now as a digital landline. And if you never use your landline, you can have broadband without one.

This guide explains what the digital switchover means for you, which providers still sell a home phone with broadband in November 2026, and which connection types need no phone line at all. Provider details were checked on the providers’ own pages on 31 October 2026 unless we say otherwise. Offers can change, so check again before you sign up.

Do you still need a landline?

For broadband, no. Full fibre, cable and 4G or 5G home broadband need no phone line at all. Older connections are different: fibre broadband that runs to a street cabinet (FTTC) and ADSL still use the copper phone line into your home, so line rental is often built into the price even if you never make a call.

Whether you need a landline for calls depends on you. If everyone in your home has a mobile with a good signal, and nobody relies on a telecare alarm, you can probably drop it. If you rely on the home phone, you can keep it: most big providers still sell one, and your number can move onto a digital line.

What changes with the digital switchover

The Office of Communications (Ofcom), the UK’s communications regulator, puts the date plainly: “BT plans to retire its old landline network by 31 January 2027.” GOV.UK says the upgrade is “expected to be complete by January 2027” for most customers. Virgin Media O2 and KCOM, which serves Hull, also plan to retire their old networks, but haven’t set dates.

A digital landline (BT calls its version Digital Voice) carries calls over your broadband connection instead of the old copper network. Your phone plugs into your broadband router, or into an adapter connected to it, rather than the wall socket. For most people the phone works as before.

Power cuts, telecare alarms and keeping your number

There are three things to check before the switch.

• Power cuts. A digital landline needs mains power. It won’t work in a power cut unless it has a battery back-up. If you depend on your landline and have no working mobile or no mobile signal at home, your provider must offer you a free back-up solution that lasts at least one hour. Some last up to seven hours. Ask for it.
• Telecare and care alarms. If you or a relative use a telecare or care alarm, tell your provider in advance of the switch, so it can check the alarm keeps working on a digital line.
• Keeping your number. If you move to a digital landline, ask your provider to keep your number. If you drop the landline entirely, you may lose it. Plusnet, for example, warns in its order process that taking broadband without a landline disconnects your home phone and loses the number for good.

Which broadband providers still offer a home phone

Most do. Sky, Vodafone and EE all sell a home phone with new broadband, and BT and Virgin Media list broadband and phone deals. Plusnet has stopped: its packages are now broadband only. Here is the provider-by-provider picture.

Provider table: BT, Virgin Media, Sky, Vodafone, TalkTalk, NOW, Plusnet, EE

Does the provider sell a home phone with new broadband? November 2026

Provider	Sells a home phone with broadband?	What we found
BT	Yes	BT’s broadband and phone deals (Fibre 300, 500 and 900 & phone) appear in the November 2026 comparison tables. Calls are not included and cost 20p a minute. Not re-checked on BT’s own page.
Virgin Media	Yes	Virgin Media’s broadband and phone deals (M125, M350, M500 and Gig1) appear in the November 2026 comparison tables where its network reaches, with weekend calls included. Not re-checked on Virgin Media’s own page.
Sky	Yes, included as standard	Sky says “All our broadband services are inclusive of landline rental and Sky Pay As You Talk (£0pm) as standard.” Call add-ons from 1 April 2026: Evenings and Weekends Extra £9, Anytime Extra £18, International Extra £18.
Vodafone	Yes, optional	“You have the option to choose a plan with or without landline.” Broadband and landline from £23.50 a month on 24 months, rising to £27 on 1 April 2027 and £30.50 on 1 April 2028.
EE	Yes, as Digital Home Phone	Calls are carried over EE broadband: “No line rental, just pay for the call pack you choose.” It requires EE Broadband. Packs cost up to £5.73 (Pay Per Call), £9.18 (700 Minutes), £20.66 (Unlimited Minutes) or £25.24 (with international) a month, on 30-day rolling terms (EE price guide, from 31 March 2026).
TalkTalk	Yes on part fibre; no on Full Fibre	Part-fibre broadband “includes a landline”, with Unlimited UK Calls, UK Evening and Weekend Calls or International Max Calls packages; Full Fibre is “broadband-only – no phone line required”. BT Group bought TalkTalk out of administration on 5 October 2026 for £400m, protecting about 2.5 million customers.
NOW	Yes, via Sky Talk	NOW Broadband is now “Powered by Sky” (Full Fibre 75 £23, 100 £25, 300 £28 a month). Its terms say it “Includes line rental and Sky Talk Pay as You Talk £0pm”; on full fibre, calls run over the internet and aren’t available to homes without a mobile signal or that rely on the landline for emergency calls.
Plusnet	No. Broadband only	“With the digital switch-over, traditional landlines are being phased out by 2027. That’s why our packages are now broadband only so there’s no landline needed to set up your service.”

Two points the table makes clear. First, “landline” now means different things at different providers. At Sky it is part of every broadband package. At Vodafone it is optional. At EE it is a digital service on top of broadband with no line rental. Second, some older comparison pages still list Plusnet as a broadband and phone provider. Plusnet’s own site says otherwise, so trust the provider’s page.

If you want to compare what these phone deals cost, our guide to broadband and landline prices has a dated shortlist with every scheduled price rise.

Landline-only options without broadband

If you want a phone line but no broadband, your choice is narrower. Ofcom notes that BT and KCOM offer cheaper voice-only landline tariffs. BT’s phone-only plans cost £31.20 a month on pay as you go, £49.20 with Unlimited Minutes or £53.20 with international calls added, all including line rental on a 12-month contract that rises £2 a year.

Connection is usually £70 to activate an existing line or £140 for a new one. Other providers, such as Virgin Media and KCOM, don’t list landline-only prices on their sites, so ask them directly.

If you claim certain benefits, look at social tariffs too. Ofcom says “current prices range from £10 to £24” a month. Universal Credit qualifies, and at all major providers so do Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support. Some providers add Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance.

Getting broadband without a landline

Connection types that need no phone line

The type of connection that reaches your home decides whether a phone line is involved.

Connection type	Needs a phone line?	Line rental in the price?
Full fibre (FTTP)	No. Fibre runs all the way to your home.	No line rental needed for the broadband itself
Cable (Virgin Media’s network)	No. Uses Virgin Media’s own cable.	No line rental needed for the broadband itself
4G or 5G home broadband	No. Connects over the mobile network.	No
Part-fibre (FTTC)	Yes. Fibre to the street cabinet, then the copper phone line.	Often built in, even with no calls
ADSL	Yes. Runs entirely over the copper phone line.	Often built in, even with no calls

So if full fibre or cable reaches your address, you can drop the landline without losing broadband. Plusnet’s broadband-only packages are an example: “there’s no landline needed to set up your service”. Vodafone also lets you choose a plan without a landline.

One caution. Some providers include landline rental in every broadband package whether you use it or not. Sky says all its broadband includes landline rental and pay-as-you-talk calls as standard, so with Sky you are not avoiding the line, you just aren’t paying extra for calls you don’t make.

When line rental is still built into the price

On FTTC and ADSL, the copper line is the connection, so the provider has to keep it live. That is why “broadband only” deals on these connections usually still include line rental in the monthly price, even with no phone plugged in. You can’t save money by removing the line, but you can avoid paying for a call package you won’t use.

As full fibre spreads, this is changing. Moving from FTTC to full fibre usually means the phone line is no longer needed for broadband. If you want to keep a home phone, it moves to a digital landline through your router.

Before you drop the landline, weigh up the cost. A bundle that includes the phone may cost little more than broadband on its own, so it is worth checking whether bundling saves money for your household. For the full range of TV, phone and mobile combinations, see our guide to broadband, TV and mobile bundles.

How to check what you can get at your address

Ofcom and Openreach availability checkers

What you can get depends on your postcode. Two free tools help:

• Ofcom’s broadband checker shows which broadband types and speeds are available at your address, across providers.
• Openreach’s full-fibre checker shows whether full fibre on the Openreach network has reached your address or is planned.

Then enter your postcode on the provider’s own site to see the deals you can actually order. If full fibre, Virgin Media cable or 4G or 5G home broadband is available, you can have broadband without a landline. If only FTTC or ADSL is available, expect line rental to be part of the price.

A checklist before you switch:

1. Check which connection types reach your address.
2. Decide whether you need a home phone, a telecare alarm connection or your current number.
3. If you keep the phone, ask about battery back-up for power cuts.
4. If you drop it, ask what happens to your number.
5. Compare deals on the total over 24 months, including price rises.

The 31 January 2027 date is about BT’s old landline network, not about your broadband. Whatever you decide about the phone, your broadband will keep working.