Finland has officially ended an era in telecommunications, switching off its final landline telephone network nearly 150 years after fixed-line services were first introduced.
According to TheCable, citing developments in Finland, telecom operator Elisa ended its landline service on Tuesday with a symbolic final call between the company’s chief executive officer, Topi Manner, and Jarkko Saarimäki, head of Finland’s communications and transport agency.
During the call, the two reflected on the role landline telephones once played in everyday life. Manner recalled living in London as a teenager during the 1980s, when he would arrange a weekly call home so his family would be available to answer. The conversation ended with the Finnish farewell “kuulemiin”, meaning “speak later”.
Finland’s landline network dates back to the 1880s and became a key part of the country’s communications infrastructure. By the 1960s, Finland ranked seventh in Europe for landline subscriptions, with household connections reaching their highest levels in the early 1990s.
The rapid rise of mobile phones, however, led to a steady decline in landline use. Finland, the home of mobile phone pioneer Nokia, became one of the world’s earliest adopters of mobile technology, accelerating the shift to wireless communication.
Most major telecom operators began phasing out landline services from 2019, while another provider stopped supporting fixed-line networks earlier this year. Elisa said it had not sold new landline subscriptions for several years because customers had increasingly embraced digital and mobile services.
The company said private customers can retain their existing landline numbers by transferring them to mobile-based subscriptions. It also said it would work with business customers to provide suitable replacement communication solutions.
The shutdown marks the end of one of the world’s longest-running national landline networks and reflects the continued global transition towards mobile and digital communications.
