Survey Americans Leading Shift To Mobile-only Phone Use

By Author: Steve Deiters
Total Articles: 18
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The results of a new survey recently published by federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show how Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 are leading the way in mobile phone reliance.

According to the report, 51 percent of these Americans live in a home that does not have a traditional landline telephone. This age group is the first generation with such a high percentage tilted toward mobile phones. The figure is also an increase of 2 percentage points over results from the previous six-month period.

"You could say that among that age group, wireless only is the new norm," said Stephen Blumberg, a senior scientist at CDC and an author of the survey.

For the age groups on either side, 18 to 24 and 30 to 34, 40 percent live in a household with only a mobile phone. Predictably, the older a household's inhabitants are, the less likely they rely on wireless service. Just one in 20 households for Americans age 65 and older rely solely on mobile phones.

In all, 27 percent of U.S. households had only mobile phones over the first half of this year. That's an increase of 2 percent over the last ...
... half of 2009, according to the CDC study. Only 13 percent of households have landlines and no mobile phones, a drop of 24 percent in early 2007.

Experts say the results of the survey are significant, because they debunk the notion that mobile phone-only homes are reserved for young, unattached people. The CDC found just the opposite.

Forty percent of children under the age of three live in homes without landlines. The figure stands at about 33 percent for children between three and five, according to the report.

"It's a sign that wireless-only is no longer strictly tied to a lifestyle of being young and restless," Blumberg said.

Still, even homes that have landlines tend to rely more on mobile phones. The study found 16 percent of households have landlines make or receive all or most of their calls with mobile phones.

The proliferation of smartphones and their popularity among consumers may mean this trend will not reverse any time soon. According to market research firm comScore, more than 61 million U.S. mobile services consumers own smartphones. That's a spike of 14 percent over the firm's July study. It also means 25 percent of all American subscribers use a smartphone.

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