It’s the end of an era – in March 2024, BT officially announced that they would be retiring the classic physical phone book. It’s pretty iconic – most homes in the UK have probably used the phone book at one time or another, but as time has marched on, the need for it has faded.
However, the lack of a phone book has left some comms providers and services scratching their heads over how they can meet certain compliance requirements. After all, Ofcom states that regulated providers need to provide subscribers with phone directories – so, what now?
Let’s take a closer look at what’s driven the paperless decision, and how people can find numbers they want to call in future.
Why has BT dropped the phone book?
Simply put, in BT’s own words, “times have changed.” As you might imagine, many people now use the internet to look up phone numbers, businesses, and people they want to call. In fact, it’s probably likely you can remember your family using a phone book growing up – but in recent years, not so much.
BT’s decision to scrap phone books actually arrives several years after Yellow Pages started the trend. The last physical YP volumes reached houses back in 2019 after five decades. BT, however, had continued printing what it estimated to be around 18 million phone books every year.
As you might imagine, that’s a huge environmental impact – and BT acknowledges this. Therefore, as comforting as having a phone book might have been, it’s ultimately for the greater good.
It’s thought that getting rid of the phone book could help to save up to 6,000 tonnes in paper use each year. That’s hard not to get behind.
Perhaps less understandably, however, BT has also chosen to shut down its digital number search directory – meaning anyone hoping to use BT’s website to search for numbers might feel even more lost.
Thankfully, there are options available – which, at the same time, will help businesses trying to stay compliant while appealing to subscribers.
What’s the workaround?
While you won’t be able to look up numbers using BT’s digital directory now – it bit the dust at the end of April 2024 – you can still download directories for your specific area.
That means, instead of necessarily having to call up BT’s premium 118 service, you can simply head to the A-Z directory finder and download a PDF of your local list of numbers for the year ahead. Simple!
Interestingly, BT also notes that while they won’t be producing physical books wholesale as they have done for decades, people can opt to purchase phonebooks individually. That’s likely to come as frustrating for people who might not be so au fait with the internet – but, at least, there’s a free option to still download numbers.
The digital A-Z service runs from Aberdeen and Shetland all the way down to York, meaning whether you’re hunting for a specific type of service or want to look up local numbers, you don’t have to worry about being left high and dry.
Similarly, if you are a provider aiming to stay compliant within Ofcom’s rules, you can direct subscribers to digital A-Z books they can download from BT online.
Whether or not Ofcom’s rules will change over time to reflect BT’s recent moves remains to be seen – but, for now, businesses can at least use this method to satisfy the fine print.
Is removing the BT phone book a good idea?
In terms of protecting the environment and aligning with current technological trends, yes – it makes sense that BT has removed the physical volumes for good, as much as it saddens some people!
However, the move has caused some confusion amongst providers on the compliance side of things – though the digital download workaround does offer a low-cost way for firms to keep within the law, and for subscribers to stay up to speed on numbers they can call.
The group of people who might struggle with this transition initially will be people without regular access to the internet, people who are not confident using it, and older people who are accustomed to using the physical books. The change presents a new learning challenge for these groups, and the emergence of a paid book isn’t likely to appeal to that need!
The best option for these groups of people is to ask for help from others – they might need to ask friends or family members to download BT’s PDFs for them, and then print them out physically. With some volumes going over a hundred pages and more, however, that’s still a lot of paper!
Ultimately, the move will mean millions of people have to readjust – and that’s something we’ve all done many times over.
While BT is pushing back the retirement of PSTN, its decision to scrap physical phonebooks is an indicator that it’s still looking to the future and thinking about convenience. That’s something we can get behind.
And, rest assured, when you take out a business line with Planet UK, you’ll be listed in BT’s UK registries the year after. Tell your customers where they can find you – and you’ll be keeping Ofcom on side, too.
Whether you’re going to miss the BT phonebook or not, this is a bold, but necessary step forward.
