More Americans cutting the landline cord

More Americans are ditching traditional landlines in favor of cell phone services, according to the results of a federal survey released Wednesday.

More than one in six American households, or 17.5 percent, depended solely on cell phones for their telephone communications during the first half of 2008, up from 13.6 percent a full year earlier, according to survey results released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And 13.3 percent of American households reportedly received all or almost all of their calls on cell phones despite having a landline telephone in their home.

The group relying most on cell-only service was unrelated adults living as roommates (63 percent), followed by adults aged 25-29 years (35.7 percent), and renters (33.6 percent).

Men (18 percent) were more likely than women (14.4 percent) to be living in households with only cell service, while adults living in poverty (26 percent) and adults living near poverty (22.6 percent) were more likely than adults with higher incomes (14.2 percent) to be living in households with only cell phones.

However, the survey also found that cell-only households were more likely to contain binge drinkers (37.7 percent) than those having landline phones (17.2 percent).

The findings mirror those released by Nielsen Mobile in September that found more than 20 million households in America, or about 17 percent, had dumped their landline service for cell phones. And the trend is expected to continue as more Americans feel the squeeze from the weakening economy. Many see traditional phone service, which averages about $40 a month, as a household expense that can be cut, especially since more than 85 percent of the U.S. population own a cell phone.

[gerrrg]

Did that over 2 years ago, and definitely not missed at all.

[Penguinisto]

Ditto here, though I did it a bit differently - a Vonage VoIP account (which uses my Internet connection, not the phone line). This way I get to keep my phone number wherever I go, I can call business associates in Germany for no long-distance fees, and it's only $25 a month flat-rate.

When I bought my house here, I didn't have to do squat w/ the phone company - I merely plugged it all in after Comcast got done (Internet, TV), and changed my billing and E911 address on the website.

I just recently got a Crackberry issued from work, after nearly two years without having a cell phone at all (it was an unnecessary expense at my last position). I gotta tell you - it was pure bliss. :)

[ravenking99]

Cells phones offer more than land lines. Caller ID does not cost an extra $7 / month because its included in the cell phone service and those pay as you go phones are fun, simple and better.

[BigGuns149]

I am not defending the idea of keeping landlines, but most cell phone plans cost more than a landline so I would hope that you got more for your money.

[Imalittleteapot]

BigGuns149: Some cell plans may cost more, but once all the taxes, features, fess and what not were added or subtracted my cell plan actually came out cheaper. The land line companies really like to put the screws to people. However, you can't really compare the two. A cell phone and a land line aren't even the same thing. The cell makes the land line completely obsolete so price comparisons really shouldn't even be made. The land line can't text, email, web browse, or travel with you or do GPS. It can't take pictures or video either.

However, the most important thing to keep in mind is that having just the cell phone is still way cheaper than having the cell and the land line. The land line may seem cheaper at first until you realize you really can't get rid of the cell so you'd end up having to pay for both anyway.

[Crux78]

Imalittleteapot: You may want to do your research to figure out where all of those fees on landlines are coming from. Now if you are paying for a feature, that is one thing. However, most of the fees/taxes are imposed by stated and federal govt. Yeah, thats Uncle Sam earning profits off of you, not the phone companies. The landline companies continue to lobby to get an even playing field when it comes to taxes and fees for anyone offering phone service. So you may see those taxes and fees go away from landlines or be added to cell and Voip. BTW, do you really need GPS on a landline? Is your house so big that you need help finding your way between your computer and your fridge?

[Chapmaniac]

Did it when my daughter, the yougest in our family, received her own cell phone a year ago. Don't miss it.

BTW, this is not "news." It's been covered countless times already.

[inachu]

The only downside to this is that some employers demand you have a land line phone.
I won't name them here but they know who they are.

[Penguinisto]

I have Vonage for that (you can also use any other VoIP corp).

[zclayton2]

OK, Why? What do they expect as an advantage of a land line that rings in one location over something that is on my hip during the waking hours no matter where I am? We abandoned our landline 5 years ago and my employer has contacted me perhaps 80% of the time when I have not been home and talked in real time. before they would have had to leave a message with my kids (unreliable) or try back later (I didn't have an answering machine) I have voice mail now via my cell that I don't have to worry about my kids accidently erasing or it losing power (the reason I dumped the answering machine before I dumped the landline.) Show this to the ludites that "Know who they are". It's not always the phone compainies - my father-in-law worked for SBC and even they didn't enforce anything that retarded.

[msims]

True. Most companies require you to have a landline number when you are seeking employment. I have a cellphone
and use it a lot when I am at work and out and about. Many people tend to forget that in an emergency or police investigation they too need a landline number to reach you to verify your place of residence. The post office, motor vehicle department, IRS ect. Yes they all need a landline number to varify your residency. This is the main reason why I've kept my landline service.

[madmongol]

One of the more fascinating things about this evolving trend is how quickly households consider cellphones more valuable than landlines. Landlines are generally cheaper but not always available in terms of mobile communication as compared to cellphones. This would tend to hint that having voice service being both mobile and readily at hand is worth quite a lot to many people. If this study also considered smartphones such as the iPhone or Android G1, then that would definitely explain the trend accelerating. Good thing to consider.

[teradyl]

most people with no landlines are binge drinkers haha. Of course this makes sense because most binge drinkers are college students and very rarely do college students have landlines, moving about so much and all.

[myles taylor]

Whoa, and this is based on what exactly? Talk about a completely false statement. I hope you are joking.

[skillingssucks]

...and you find that a "completely false statement", how, Einstein? I'd be willing to bet that the largest segment of the binge drinking population is comprised of college students and those of college age. The very same group that makes up the majority of the "cell only" population. Too bad if it offended your sensibilities, but how far fetched is that idea really?

[myles taylor]

Well to I wouldn't call all college students binge drinkers, but that's another topic. I worked in an ISP and I saw more and more people, not college students, giving up their landlines in favor of mobile phones. It's a trend that isn't just college students or "binge drinkers".

I'd like to see some proof on that. It didn't offend anything, I just think it's false.

[myles taylor]

That's me! I've actually never had a landline and the only reason I would ever get one would be to get DSL instead of cable internet. The limitations of a landline make me wonder why anyone uses them anymore unless they can't get cell service.

[William Crow]

Land lines work so much better.

[zclayton2]

I'm 54. In what world do landlines work better unless you live in BFE?

[Crux78]

zclayton2: In what world? In world where terrist attacks and natural disasters clog cell phone networks. On 9-11, landlines were very much more reliable than cell. People in NY were able to call out quite easily from the corner payphone but the cell phone network was jammed solid. From a capacity perspective, land networks can handle a significantly higher volume of calls vs the cell network.

[kannuc]

Fired both the land line and the cell phone, my twenty bucks a year service works just fine (magic jack)

[gfsdfge]

It seems everyone posting is a city/suburban person. Much of the county does not have cell service anywhere near their homes. Some of the old taxes were used to ensure ALL Americans would have a phone, but the telecoms don't want to abide by that anymore. Also, here in the north east we just had a major ice storm. Many people lost power for 3-4 days. Batteries don't last that long (-:

[msims]

Some people forget that most companies require you to have a landline number when you are seeking employment. I have a cellphone
and use it a lot when I am at work and out and about. Many people tend to forget that in an emergency or police investigation they too need a landline number to reach you to verify your place of residence. The post office, motor vehicle department, IRS ect. Yes they all need a landline number to varify your residency. This is the main reason why I've kept my landline service.

[edgarcayce]

msims, they don't NEED it. They want it. There is no statutory requirement for maintaining a landline phone, and an employer who required an employee to have a landline phone would loose such a case in court with extensive punitive damages. It would be illegal for a government agency such as the post office or DMV to require you to maintain a landline also.

[cheriejd]

Everyone does stories on things like this. I live somewhere that doesn't even have cell phone service for most of the area. How come no one ever covers that? Do you guys even realize this problem exists? And I only live 2.5 hours from NYC. It is nice to talk about the Obama camp touting broadban for all, but how about cell phone service for all. My biggest fear is having my car break down at night and not being able to get help. It happens here.

[Stefaninafla]

During the hurricanes of '04, my cell phone was a useless brick, but my hard-plugged in landline worked just fine.
For that reason alone, I keep a bare-bones limited call landline service.