Floridians continue to cut their telephone landlines, with the number of the once-standard connections dropping 17.7 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to a new report by the state Public Service Commission.
The report, released Thursday, said 763,866 landlines remained in use as of Dec. 31, 2023, with 484,345 used by businesses and 279,521 in residences. Meanwhile, with the state’s population now topping 23 million people, the report indicated Florida phone users had about 24 million wireless subscriptions.
Also, another 4.5 million users made calls through what is known as voice over internet protocol. Landline use in Florida peaked two decades ago with about 12 million users, but wireless technology rapidly took hold as the population increased and wireless services became more affordable.
“Based on competitors’ substantial market share and market pressures requiring comparable affordability and reliability, competition is having a positive effect on the maintenance of reasonably affordable, reliable telecommunications services,” the commission’s annual Report on the Status of Competition in the Telecommunications Industry said.
CenturyLink experienced a 19.9 percent drop in residential landlines in Florida during 2023, while Frontier saw a 25.6 percent decrease and AT&T went down 27.2 percent, according to the commission.
Business landlines, which declined by 15 percent from 2022 to 2023, have outnumbered residential landlines in Florida for 13 years.