Landlines Disappear From One In Eight Homes
January 19, 2007
WASHINGTON -- More and more Americans are unplugging landline phones in favor of the cell.
The number of traditional landlines has dropped over the past three years. In the first half of last year, one in eight households did not have a landline, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected in its National Health Interview Survey.
Three years earlier it was about one in 20.
It's a trend that affects policy and market research. U.S. polling favors traditional landline telephones. That could underrepresent those most likely to own only cell phones.
Those are younger and poorer people, and those who rent rather than own their homes. Also, it's much more costly to interview people on their cell phones.
Research experts say the cell-phone-only crowd is not yet large enough to affect the accuracy of traditional polling among the general population or voters.
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My wife and I each have a cell phone, but we still have a landline.
:dial-up:
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