Australians are still talking in vast numbers on traditional fixed line telephone, according to a new Ofcom report.In the last five years to 2009 fixed line call volumes recorded by Telstra rose in Australia by 2 percent, the only country globally to have recorded an increase, proving this is still a lucrative sector of the telecomms market for the often controversial company.
The surge in caller numbers here in Australia is in spite of the international trend which is shying away from the fixed line usage.
The UK’s BT network suffered a 16 percent usage drop and Poland’s Telekomunikacja Polska (TP) recorded the highest fall of all countries surveyed with a 24 percent drop.
Despite the sharp fall, the Poles are among the highest after Australia in terms of call volumes, according to the Ofcom report, the UK’s regulatory communications watchdog.
Germany’s Deutsche Telekom recorded the lowest rate of calls made on fixed line of all nations surveyed at just 34 percent.
The reasons for the sharp decline are unclear although big players on the market including Skype and internet calls are offering both consumers and business alternative ways of making calls at a fraction of the cost.
Mobile take up has also increased globally, as competition between providers heats up.
Demand for the latest devices including Smartphones and iPhone 4 have surged, with Australia among the highest users of the iPhone in the world, surpassing the US, according to a separate report.
In spite of this growth, it was also revealed in the report that consumers were likely to reduce their expenditure on mobile telephony in the next year, although Australia was not included in this data.
