From Ms. P. Finch

Saturday, 19 April 2025

As the interface with technology becomes more and more complicated I am currently grappling with several issues not least the end of my beloved Landline. My head physically reacts to/ gets hot using a mobile or a portable. 

It has taken me some time to get to grips with the implications of going completely digital. 

If I choose to link up to the new system for my phone and computer (also connected to the landline) it will cost me at least £10 more per month subscription. It is also a wifi-like signal which I wish to avoid. In a power cut they will run out. My old landline never did.

Luckily I am able to text with an older Nokia. At least I can stay in touch that way, though some friends and family dont even have those. 

In addition my TV is dropping channels rapidly. Its an SD version not HD that ITV, BBC E5 and others now use. Terrestrial and even satellite TV is threatened with closure.

Meanwhile radio is becoming less and less available except for national networks.  Local news is becoming obsolescent. It is causing a breakdown of social cohesion and communication.

For instance I used to be able to hear Radio Leeds and Lancashire. 
Now with radio transmitters being decomissioned, we have to rely on dab radios which dont appear to work as well despite the hype. 

Why should we depend on smart phones and smart speakers for everything? In a powercut or solar flare scenario we wont even have those. 

It is not just older people who are finding this difficult. We are not all techy types. The Digital Poverty Alliance recognises this. It is trying to assist many groups who are finding themselves cut off as a result of all this change including people on low incomes or living in vulnerable housing.

There is also a Save our Landlines campaign lobbying parliament.