Elisa ends landline phone subscriptions as last major Finnish operator

Elisa, the last of Finland’s major telecom operators, has discontinued its landline phone subscriptions for both private and business customers as of Tuesday, Yle reports.

The company announced at the start of the year that it would phase out its remaining landline connections by the end of June. Telia had already discontinued its landline services in 2019, and DNA followed suit at the turn of the year.

Once a widespread network dating back to the late 19th century, landline usage has plummeted in recent decades. Elisa reported that only a few thousand landline subscriptions remained at the start of the year, used not only for traditional phones but also for fax machines and elevator phones. No new subscriptions had been sold for years.

Some calls may still appear to come from a traditional landline number, but these are typically mobile network connections that have retained their familiar phone numbers.