Do you need a landline for broadband in 2025?

While nowadays you can get broadband by itself, you may still need to have a physical phone line hooked up to your home to get broadband with some providers.

That’s because some UK providers use older fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) or ADSL connections that rely on copper phone wires to get you connected, so you need to have a phone line to your home to get their broadband. Even then, you don’t always need to pay for a phone service; just the line itself.

With newer full fibre connections and with Virgin Media fibre, you don’t need to have a phone line at all. That’s because these connections either bypass the street cabinet to bring the connection directly to your home or use coaxial cables instead of phone lines to connect you to the internet.

If you don’t use a home phone, it’s a good idea to look for broadband only deals that don’t include or require a landline so that you can save money.

No, you don’t need a landline or a phone line to get Virgin Media broadband. Our broadband service runs through our own fibre network, either which uses coaxial cables rather than a phone line to get you connected. That means we can bring fast and reliable internet straight to your home without the need for a landline connection.

You can still choose to add TV or a home phone service if you like, but you don’t need to if you don’t want to. We’ve designed our packages to be flexible, so you can pick what works best for you, and if you just want broadband on its own, that’s absolutely fine with us.

Looking for broadband without a home phone? Check out all of our broadband deals without landline to get broadband without a landline attached.

Some types of broadband that need a copper phone line to work. These types use the same cables as a traditional landline phone, so a phone line is required:

If you want broadband without needing a landline, you’d need to look at other options like Full Fibre, Cable, or Mobile Broadband, which don’t use copper phone lines at all.

Broadband without a landline can sometimes be cheaper, but it depends on the provider and the type of broadband you choose. If you don’t use a home phone, it makes sense to look for broadband deals that don’t include a landline so you’re not paying for something you don’t need.

However, some providers still use phone lines to deliver broadband, so even if you don’t use the phone, you might still have to pay for line rental. In those cases, the cost of the landline is built into the price of the broadband package, and it may not be any cheaper to go without it.

If you choose a provider that offers broadband through cable or full fibre (like Virgin Media), you can get broadband without a landline and save money by not paying for a line rental or phone service.

If you get broadband without a landline, you’ll only have to pay for the line rental if your provider uses copper phone wires to connect you to the internet. Even then, the cost is usually just part of the overall price you pay for a broadband service, and you most likely won’t be charged extra to keep the connection running.

To avoid paying for a line rental entirely, it’s worth looking for a broadband provider that doesn’t use a phone line connect you to the internet. That includes fibre options like Virgin Media fibre since we don’t need a landline to get you connected.

You can still get broadband even if you don’t have a phone line, but you’ll need to either request to get a phone line hooked up to your home or choose a broadband provider that doesn’t use a phone line to connect you to the internet.

Openreach has a Universal Service Obligation for broadband and phones, so if your home doesn’t have a line connected, you should be able to check if you’re eligible and request one. You can do this through Openreach directly.

 If you don’t have a phone line and don’t want one, look for broadband only deals that don’t require a phone line. These packages are made for people who just want internet without paying for a landline or home phone service. Some areas also have mobile broadband or 4G/5G home internet, which works using a mobile signal instead of cables.

At Virgin Media, all our broadband deals come without a landline by default. That means you can get our superfast fibre broadband, TV and SIM deals all without a landline if you don’t want one.

Be sure to check out our broadband without landline deals to find a broadband only package that works for you.