Wireline Service Going Extinct in US – Mobile Phone Use Up

It seems every now and again, a research firm releases statistics that confirm the slow death of wireline (landline) telephone services. The latest stats come from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), and indicate that approximately one out of every six US households has ditched their fixed-line telephone for a completely wireless mobile phone.

The NCHS estimates that, as of June 30, 2008, 17.5% of US households relied on their cellphone as their sole means of “reaching out and touching” their friends and loved ones. Compared to the 13.6% of households that shunned wireline telephone service in 2007, it’s clear that the wireless-only lifestyle is gaining traction. Wireless-only adoption increased 3.6% in the past year, compared with the 3.1% increase in the previous year.

The data is in line with industry analysts’ estimations that the move to wireless-only living will increase 3% to 4% per year. It also corroborates other estimates that 20% of US households will be completely wireless by 2009. By 2012, 37% of US households are expected to be relying solely on their cellphones. What’s more, in this weak economy, increasing numbers of Americans will likely see their fixed-line telephone service as a luxury that just isn’t worth the extra monthly expenditure.

“In a deep recession, a growing number of households are likely to decide that a wired phone is a luxury,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Bernstein Research. Still, he says “the majority of telco line losses continue to go not to cord cutters, but to cable.”

The NHCS records mobile phone usage data in order to ensure that their health-related surveys are reliable. The data has been said to be more reliable and in-depth than other wireless-only surveys.

So, how many of you are wireless?

[Via: Yahoo]