Is the residential fixed line business dead?

Fixed line voice traffic in Trinidad and Tobago stood at 1.28 billion minutes in 2014, a 2.3 percentage decrease over the previous period. With a household penetration at 56.6 in 2014, which is a decrease of 1% from 2013. A comparison among CARICOM countries, places Trinidad and Tobago seventh (7th) in terms of fixed line penetration.

Globally, the downward trend in fixed line ownership is set to continue as identified by the International Telecommunications Union(ITU). As of 2011 the trend in the US is the same with nearly 32% of American households being cell phone-only households.

With penetration decreasing some operators have increased their rates locally, which is similar to what British Telecom, did to recover their costs whilst internationally others have sought to sell their fixed line copper assets in rural areas.

As Facebook, Whatsapp, Viber and Skype eat away at voice minutes and consumers push for mobility it begs the question. What is the dominant fixed line local operator likely to do with this traditional line of business?