Reliance on mobile phones growing in the US – study says cellphone use rising

The US wireless landscape is something of a trip back in time. Our adoption of mobile services and network technologies is so slow it hurts. But, according to a recently published study, it seems that mobile phone reliance in the States is increasing.

Harris Interactive conducted four online surveys from October 2007 to January 2008 and polled a total of 9,132 adults. Harris found that only 79% of US adults have an active landline telephone in their home. Furthermore, about one in seven US adults use cellphones exclusively – with half of them fitting into the 30+ year old demographic.

Interestingly, 89% of US adults now own a mobile phone. Compared to the 77% of US adults that Harris found to own a cellphone in 2006, the increase in cellphone ownership is encouraging. VoIP use, on the other hand, seems to be stable with around 16% of US adults having used the technology.

And, while overall mobile phone usage and reliance has been increasing over time, it seems that the younger generation make up less and less of the demographic. US adults 30 and over are starting to account for greater proportions of the US wireless environment. The younger set usually sets the stage with early technology adoption, but older adults are starting to take the lead in technology adoption.

Overall, things are looking rosy for the US mobile phone market. It’s only a matter of time before the US hits 100% mobile penetration.

[Via: DigiTimes]