Cash-strapped Britons could save a lot of cash by using their landline phones, according to BT.
The firm has just released a survey which asked consumers what they would least like to give up as the economic downturn bites. Nearly three quarters of the respondents said they were attempting to reign in their budgets and more than a quarter said they were "desperately" or "very" worried about a possible recession, which is widely expected by analysts and the government.
However, more people (37 percent) said they would hate to lose their mobile more than their landline phone (27 percent). This is despite the fact that landlines offer far cheaper calls, according to the managing director of BT's consumer division, John Petter.
"One in six people [are] starting to use their landline instead of their mobile. However, amazingly around 40 percent of mobile calls are currently made in the home, just steps away from the cheaper landline option," he said.
This could be because more than half of the respondents thought that calling a mobile from a landline is costly. BT claimed that this is no longer the case and people on pay-as-you-go deals may be paying up to 50 percent more.
Broadband came top of the list for things people want to hold on to, even ahead of fruit and vegetables. BT said that this could be because the internet can help with budgeting, through price comparison and advice websites.
