Consumers Are Ditching Landline Phones

Traditional landline phones, once the bedrock of communications in the USA, are quickly going the way of eight-track tapes as consumers go wireless or choose Internet-based phone calling.

According to a report due to be released today by the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly one out of every six homes in the USA — 15.8 percent — had only wireless telephones during the second half of 2007, up from 6.1 percent during the same period in 2004.

“America has a lot of gabbers,” says Sameer Mithal, a senior principal with IBB Consulting in Princeton, N.J. “The ability to talk on the go is what Americans like to do.”

For big carriers such as AT&T and Verizon, America’s love fest with wireless is having a dramatic impact on what was once a core business.

In New York state, land lines have plummeted 55 percent since 2000, according to a new report by Sanford C. Bernstein. New Jersey isn’t far behind, with a 50 percent drop-off.

States with the fewest landline losses include Connecticut with 10 percent, Texas, 20 percent, and California, 21 percent.

Even so, it won’t take long for the other 49 states to catch up to or surpass New York, predicts analyst Craig Moffett, author of the report. “This is a business that is not showing any signs of recovery,” he says.

Wireless is a major factor, he says. Around the globe, consumers are clamoring for anything wireless — from high-definition video to gaming and mobile banking.

The trend is strongest among young adults: 34.5 percent of people 25-29 years old lived in households with only wireless phones. For those 30-44, the rate drops to 15.5 percent. It’s 2.2 percent for those 65 and over.

The rise of cable telephony is another factor. Big cable TV operators such as Time Warner and Comcast have lured away millions…