BT axing key service after more than 140 years in major blow for households

BT will no longer distribute free copies of its iconic phone book from April – ending the service after more than 140 years.

The first BT phone book was delivered in 1880, with 18 million copies printed every year – but this month will see the last editions hit doormats up and down the country. BT said less households are relying on its physical phone book, and instead are going online to find the same information.

Paper-based advertising has also declined, the telecoms giant said. For customers who would still like a physical copy of the phone book, they will have to pay £10 plus postage for the first year then at-cost price after. Households will also be able to find a PDF version on the BT website, although this isn’t available just yet. BT said the decision will save around 6,000 tonnes of paper every year, helping it to reach its goal of operating at net zero by 2030.

The final BT phone book

In an update on the BT website first published last May, Faisal Mahomed, Director of BT UK portfolio businesses, said: “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.”

It comes after Yellow Pages printed its final paper edition in early 2019 – ending 51 years of service. Then in 2020, Argos announced it would stop printing its famous catalogue after almost 50 years.