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This particular decision had to be made by 2018, as suppliers plan to retire approximately 130 of the traditional landline systems the government uses by the government next year. Shared Services Canada already has more than 100,000 VoIP lines in use.

Ottawa started to ditch landlines about five years ago when it let approximately 120,000 employees in the National Capital Region choose either a mobile phone or a desk phone, but not both.

Residents and businesses across the country have also been cutting the cord on traditional landlines as mobile services become increasingly affordable and reliable. Some businesses, including big four accounting firm KPMG, have gone as far as axing desk phones altogether.

The trend is dampening the bottom line for the country’s largest telephone providers, but they’re more than making up for it with the strength of their wireless businesses.

When it comes to mobile, the federal government announced earlier this week that it switched providers to BCE Inc. from Rogers Communications Inc.

It inked a $432.1-million deal for Bell to provide services over six years to 230,000 devices used in more than 100 departments and agencies. In a statement, the ministry said the new contracts have improved rates and more flexible service plans including unlimited national long-distance calls, lower international roaming rates and data usage, and free voice-to-mail text messaging.

The new plans also include a flexible data plan that automatically adjusts based on usage in a bid to avoid unexpected overage charges.