BT scrapping another free service this week after getting rid of phone book

BT is set to scrap another complimentary service this week, following the discontinuation of its physical phone book. The telecoms giant is pulling the plug on its online phone directory this week, leaving customers without the digital option to look up individual or business phone numbers after April 30.

The move will impact those who struggle to find phone numbers online or are unable to access the internet, pushing them towards using the premium-rate 118 500 number service, which charges £1.55 per minute plus a 77p connection fee.

BT has named the decline in usage of thephonebook.bt.com as the reason for its decision to get rid of it.

This comes after BT's announcement that the last editions of its paper phone book are being distributed this month. Since the first delivery in 1880, with an annual print run of 18 million copies, the company now points out that people prefer using online search engines for the same information.

BT also highlighted that ending the service will contribute to saving approximately 6,000 tonnes of paper each year, aiding its ambition to achieve net zero by 2030, reports the Mirror.

Faisal Mahomed, Director of BT UK portfolio businesses, commented on the change on the BT website, initially posted last May: "Since 1880, the Phone Book has been synonymous with BT. For many years it was an essential resource and the only way to find contact information for a person or business."

"But times have changed and, today, it's easy to find this information at the click of a mouse or the tap of a smartphone. With the explosion in data and choice of devices over the past decade, and the increased digitisation of services, the printed Phone Book has now become a memory for many. In fact, we still print 18 million Phone Books every year, but with dwindling demand and the high environmental impact of printing and distributing these hard copies, we've decided that March 2024 will see the last books rolling off the print run."

This follows the Yellow Pages' final paper edition being released in early 2019 after 51 years of print, and Argos discontinuing its iconic catalogue in 2020 after nearly half a century.

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