More Cell Phone Users Cutting Landlines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued preliminary results from their National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The survey has found that homes without a landline, but at least one wireless phone, continues to grow. The current statistic they found was that 20.2% or more than one out of every five American homes had only a wireless phone.

The CDC first started collecting data about wireless-only homes with the NHIS back in 2003. The latest findings, which cover July to December of 2008, is the largest six-month increase ever for the survey since that time. The NHIS also found that even if a home had a landline phone, a good portion of calls were still being received on a wireless phone.

According to the study, 14.5% or one out of every seven American homes receive all or almost all their calls on a wireless phone even if they have a traditional landline phone. On the flip side, those households without a wireless nor landline phone has remained largely unchanged for the last three years. The current statistic is that 1.9% of homes have no telephone service at all.

(May 8, 2009)