The End of an Era in Finland: A massive chapter in telecommunications history of Finland has officially come to a close. On June 30, 2026, Elisa shut down its landline phone network, marking the formal end of over 140 years of landline history in Finland. Elisa’s Chief Technology Officer, Kalle Lehtinen, said: “Voice isn’t disappearing; the way we use it is just changing.” The rival operators DNA and Telia closed their landline networks earlier.
To mark the historical occasion, Elisa’s CEO Topi Manner placed the very last commercial landline call from London to Jarkko Saarimäki, the Director-General of the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom), hosted at Elisa’s Phone Museum in Helsinki.
Finland actually held onto its landline infrastructure longer than some of its Nordic neighbors, like Sweden. The real shift began in the 1990s with the rise of the internet, followed by a massive turning point in the early 2000s when mobile phones rapidly eclipsed traditional home phones.
What’s Next? The physical infrastructure cleanup across the country will continue for years as miles of old cabling are systematically collected and recycled. As the old copper wires are pulled from the ground, Finland’s digital future is being built on a combination of high-speed fiber-optic cables and wireless mobile networks (4G,5G and groundwork for the upcoming 6G era).
Source:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2026/06/30/puhelinlangat-hiljenivat-kaapeleita-kerataan-viela-vuosia/
Links to my related blog posts:
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2019/08/08/telephone-history-from-tekniikan-museo/
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2019/01/08/end-of-wired-telephone-is-near-in-finland/
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2013/04/15/ethernet-and-telephone-can-share-same-wires/
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2021/04/08/huge-telephone-cable-replaced-with-fiber/
https://www.epanorama.net/blog/2021/05/25/telephone-cables-start-to-dissappear/
8 Comments
handyman says:
Indeed, the end of an era.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Seuraavaksi vaikenevat vanhat nokialaiset ja muut GSM-puhelimet
https://www.hameensanomat.fi/paikalliset/9613913
Teleoperaattorit saavat sulkea vanhat 2G-verkkonsa vuoden 2029 jälkeen. Valtaosa alkuperäisen GSM-verkon käyttäjistä on nykyisin muita kuin ihmisiä.
how to finish drywall says:
It will be in the museum soon! Cheers!
visit our site says:
Finland’s landline network has gone silent. It is a nice place for the users who like to know how it can help the users who want to know how it works. While using these updates, I got help and it brought the best results.
Greensboro says:
Keep up your great work!
personal trainer Charlotte says:
Fascinating piece of telecommunications history. It’s remarkable to think that Finland’s landline network lasted for more than 140 years, and the shift toward newer communication technologies really shows how quickly the industry has evolved. The quote about voice changing rather than disappearing is particularly fitting.
what is purple drywall says:
I feel so old now that i got a chance to experience using a landline network.
Mike Chen says:
Interesting to see how Finland has completed this transition. As someone working with digital media tools, I often use AI image generators like the ones at nanobananopro.pics to create visualizations and illustrations for historical technology articles. The old copper infrastructure being replaced by fiber is a fascinating story of technological evolution – it would make a great visual timeline project combining archival photos with AI-enhanced renderings of what the cable infrastructure looked like over the decades.