Before the era of mobiles, husbands and wives had fewer opportunities to communicate with one another during the working day

Brett Kahr, pyschotherapist

However, couples are less keen to get in touch when they are enjoying an after-work tipple.

Only 27% bother to tell their partner they are staying in the pub for another drink, while a quarter admit to telling white lies about being stuck in traffic when they have actually been enjoying an extra drink.

The phone is also proving useful to nag a loved one into doing something you have forgotten, with 67% picking up the phone for this purpose.

It can also be used in a more thoughtful way, with 42% checking if their partner wants anything from the shops.

And 28% of people use the phone to check what is for dinner.

Talk is fundamental

The need to talk was a healthy one, said Brett Kahr, a senior fellow in Psychotherapy at Regent's College in London.

"Before the era of mobile phones, husbands and wives had fewer opportunities to communicate with one another during the course of the working day," he said.

"The fact that as many as 81% of mobile phone users ring or text their other halves on their journey to the office suggests a real, almost universal yearning to talk, something which mental health professionals have begun to recognise as a fundamental human need."

Orange is launching a household mobile package, Talkshare Plus, which rewards customers for their combined loyalty with low cost calls and text messages.