Taiwan’s home phone penetration rate has dropped by more than 24% in 30 years, and mobile phones and the Internet have become the new standard

Thirty years ago (1995), daily necessities that were once "standard equipment" in every household are now fading at an unprecedented speed. The number of home phones has dropped by more than 24% from the peak of 97%. [Reporter Gao Jiahe/Taipei Report] As technology continues to advance, Taiwanese families are experiencing a silent device revolution. According to the latest household equipment penetration survey by the General Accounting Office, daily necessities that were "standard equipment" in every household 30 years ago (1995) are now fading away at an unprecedented rate. Including the fact that home telephones have dropped by more than 24% from the peak of 97%, the "fourth radio" has flourished and declined, mobile phones have replaced digital cameras, and online media has replaced paper media. The penetration rate has dropped from 50% to 60% to only 5% now.

Only 70% of households have local telephone installed, Channel 4 kicks off line-cutting trend

When you were a child, what equipment at home have you gradually lost sight of? The penetration rate of local telephones (telephones) reached a peak of 97.55% in 2005 and is a must-have for almost every household; however, the latest data shows that the number of household telephones has plummeted to 73.76% in 2025. More and more renters or newlywed families no longer apply for local telephones. This physical line that once connected emotions has gradually been replaced by invisible radio waves.

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In addition, the "video recorder" that was once the darling of home audio-visuals has long since disappeared from home TV cabinets; and the "digital camera" that used to be a must-have for travel has also declined rapidly due to the high-definition lenses of smartphones. In just 15 years, the penetration rate has plummeted from 51.7% to 5.7%.

"Cable TV channel equipment (Channel 4)", which used to dominate living room entertainment, has also experienced a boom and a decline. After the penetration rate climbed from 54.15% in 1995 to a high of 86.36% in 2017, it was subsequently unable to compete with online streaming video and other competitions. It has declined to 80.44% in 2025, and the cord-cutting trend continues to ferment.

Mobile phones and the Internet, the most popular devices in households

And newspapers, which once accompanied countless Taiwanese people in their morning hours, have become the "tears of the times" under the digital wave. In 1995, the penetration rate of newspaper subscriptions among Taiwanese households was as high as 55.61%, making it the most important channel for people to obtain news. However, with the rise of the Internet generation and the conversion of paper content into digital, the penetration rate of newspapers has declined avalanche, and even fell below the 5% mark in 2025, leaving only 4.36%.

Contrasted with these disappearing home devices is the comprehensive replacement of "mobile phones and mobile networks". Twenty years ago (2005), the penetration rate of mobile phones was 86.15%. In 2025, it has reached 98.04%, surpassing color TVs (97.65%) and becoming the most popular device in households in Taiwan.

The survey targets were the respondent households selected from Taiwan's municipalities, counties and cities using the "stratified two-stage random sampling method". A total of 16,528 households were selected.

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