Fixed-line voice telephony to go the way of the dodo?

Mobile operators are missing a trick by focusing their efforts on data – there's plenty more cash to be rung out from traditional voice minutes at the expense of fixed-line telephony, according to a new report.

Come 2009, the report, entitled The Road to Fixed Mobile Substitutions Starts with 3G from Analysys, says mobile could end up with 50 per cent of all voice traffic worldwide, with cost and convenience cited as two of the main reasons consumers will make the switch.

That doesn't mean the death of the fixed line, however – the report says that fewer than 10 per cent of households have a mobile phone but no landline in most countries. As long as internet access through a phone line remains the norm, it's unlikely that the situation will change.

Nevertheless, the number of fixed lines will continue to follow a downward path as mobile and fixed-line telcos fight it out on voice pricing, the report says.

The whole voice market is looking healthy nonetheless, with voice calls in Western Europe predicted to rise by 10 per cent and mobile voice calls going up by 94 per cent by 2009.