TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Sunshine State ended 2023 with about 17.7% less landlines in service than the year prior, according to the Florida Public Service Commission.
The PSC submits a report to the Florida Legislature every year on Aug. 1 that compiles and analyzes data from Florida telecommunications companies for the 12-month period ending Dec. 31 of the previous year.
Shared on Thursday, the latest “Report on the Status of Competition in the Telecommunications Industry” states carriers in Florida reported about 764,000 total landlines in the state in 2023, down 17.7% from 2022 as Florida consumers continue moving from traditional landline to wireless and business Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.
Following the trend of past years, wireless and VoIP services drove the telecommunications markets in 2023. According to the most recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data, Florida has an estimated 24 million wireless subscriptions and over 4.5 million VoIP connections, far eclipsing the remaining 764,000 landlines in 2023.
Florida Public Service Commission statement Aug. 1, 2024 (excerpt)
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
It’s the 13th year in a row that business landlines exceeded residential landlines, according to the PSC, which noted business access lines themselves still declined by 15% in 2023 while residential landlines fell by 21.8%.
By the carrier, CenturyLink saw a 19.9% decline in residential lines during 2023, Frontier’s figure fell by 25.6% and AT&T lost 27.2% of its residential access lines, PSC said in summary.
Learn more on the PSC’s website and access the entire report by clicking here.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: