Mobile usage to overtake fixed lines in Western Europe this year

Mobile calls will overtake fixed line calls for the first time in Western Europe this year, says a new report.

In the UK, where patterns of consumption are close to the European average, mobile voice usage should overtake fixed voice in the second quarter of 2008 said the latest Telecoms Market Matrix report from Analysys.

Dave Millett, operations director at VoIP provider Inclarity, said, "Mobiles are convenient for people who are constantly on the move, even more so with a rapidly changing work culture which is moving towards flexibility, home and remote working."

He warned firms that they risked leaking money if they did not adopt a fixed mobile convergence (FMC) strategy, where staff in offices or out of them could use a single handset to find the cheapest routed call, over either a mobile or fixed network.