Not everyone uses a Mobile Phone

NoIdeaWhattoPut

I have found it increasingly difficult to do many things as companies now expect everyone to have a mobile phone. I tried to apply for various credit cards and the process came to an immediate holt because they demanded to know my mobile phone number.

Then I found that the credit cards that I do have wanted to send me SMS messages to confirm everything.

The NHS has also started to assume everyone has a mobile phone.

There are parts of the country that cannot even get a mobile signal.

Some websites would not let me signup to receive email updates without giving them a mobile phone number.

Years ago I bought a mobile phone and I found it a complete nightmare. I have terrible eyesight and suffer from tremors so using a mobile phone is not good. Even using a 27" screen is not easy.

Having worked in IT my whole career I know that SMS messages are less secure than email. The vast majority of fraud now starts with an SMS text. Yet financial organisations don't seem to care.

I see many people using mobile phones and I ask them what security procedures they folllow. They look at me as if I am mad. No one I have spoken to uses a password manager on their phone. No one was aware of the vast number of fake apps. No one was aware that their phones were no longer getting security updates. This is all very worrying when people put their entire lives on their phones.

Nearly all mobile phone apps want access to things on the mobile phone that they do not need. Even the camera app on the Android phone would not take photos without having access to the microphone. But that is trivial in comparison to other security issues. The bottom line is that they all want access to your data to sell it. The number of fake apps is amazing.

I use the Internet and it costs way too much each month. Why should I have an extra TAX of paying for a mobile phone and the monthly charges on top of the Internet costs just to use basic services.

The situation is due to get much worse with the phasing out of landline phones in 2025. Whereas people could phone emergency services during power cuts that is not the case once the current landlines go. I have already found how difficult it is to use some financial services with the new digital phone system over the Internet. The box that I plug my analog phone into does not pass specical characters through to companies. Some companies phone with security codes that I need to enter. They work fine if they just say the code. But others insist that I press # or * before they will give me the security code. But when I do (and it is displayed on my phone screen) the companies do not recognise it. When I have told them their response is basically tough, that is how our system works, so use a mobile phone like everyone else!

I think it is time that someone took a serious look at this issue and I'd like to see a campaign against the insistance on mobile phones just to access basic services like credit cards.

Richard1212

I have to agree with you. The world moves on very quickly, especially in the tech sector, and forgets that some people are not ready for the move. No more banks near enough to visit, no more post office to visit, no contact available without internet, more cars but nowhere to park, the move from PCs to laptops, then the move from laptops to tablets, the move from mobiles to smart mobiles, then the dreaded apps...... and I could go on and on.

I'm all for technological advances but not at the expense of making those advances almost universally compulsory by default. It seems like some folk are left with a betamax instead of vhs and the winner takes all and the loser has to fit in with a set regime or flounder around with no access to all sorts of things that they should be allowed to access. Minorities are not catered for properly in this modern tech age , nor are the disabled, nor are elderly folk who should not be forced to toe the line or sink under a torrent of tech advances that they cannot use and do not want.

I believe that tech or "modernising" advances should not be forced on absolutely everyone at such a speed but leave time for all sorts of people who do not want to adapt so quickly to have continuing access to what they are used to for a much longer time period. That sensible approach does not have to hinder modernisation or tech advances for those that are ready to embrace them.

jlfrs01

NoIdeaWhattoPut said:

The situation is due to get much worse with the phasing out of landline phones in 2025. Whereas people could phone emergency services during power cuts that is not the case once the current landlines go. 

That's not strictly true, it's the technology which is changing as analogue is being phased out for VOIP, more details on the Government website here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-transition-from-analogue-to-digital-landlines

Going VOIP could be very good news as it means a compatible phone can be plugged directly into the network to access digital services which could alleviate many of the issues highlighted in the OP.

https://www.ring4.com/blog/voip-for-banking-and-finance-industry

NoIdeaWhattoPut

Actually it is completely true. Current landline phones get power from telephone exchanges through the copper cable. VOIP does not. BT implemented the new system in parts of the counrty. When we had bad storms many of those people could not contact emergency services, could not get out due to blocked trees, could not get food or medication etc. BT called a holt to the change but has now continued. The solution is said to be batteries but they do not last long. It is not just the phone that needs power but also the router that is connected to the Internet without which VOIP does not work.

People who have a mobile phone, and a mobile signal ,are okay for a period of time. But only for a period of time until their phones need charging. That assumes of course that the mobile system continues to work.

I have nothing against VOIP. I have been using it for years. But it is not the answer for everyone and it is certainly not as easy as current landlines. In my case it took a great deal of effort to configure and a new router as my ISP blocks the protocols used by VOIP on their router. But I have spent over 35 years working in IT and telecoms. I found it complicated but many elderly people would not have a prayer.

With the new digital systems many devices that people rely on will also not work. I'm talking about things like alarms for the elderly, burglar alarms etc. And it is only going to get worse when 2g/3g gets turned off. We have all been told we should have smart meters but many of those will no longer work when 2g/3g gets turned off.

As someone who has worked in IT and telecoms for so long I love to see technology being used to improve peoples lives but I'm afraid it is questionable whether it is actually doing that now.

The other issue with VOIP is that it relies on a box that is essentially just a small computer. Like all computers it is open to being hacked. The VOIP blog post you quote has clearly been written by someone who wants to sell VOIP to financial organisations and does not reflect the customer perspective. It is a very strange blog post as nearly all companies have been using VOIP for years.

But my OP was not about VOIP. It is about the expectation that everyone uses a mobile phone.

subjecttocontract

I have a mobile phone but I don't have a smart phone. I use it for telephone & text messaging only and the banks send me sms codes to log into accounts.......that's it. I don't do anything else with it, I don't use apps etc.