Three in 10 U.S. cell phone users between the ages of 18 and 24 have ditched their landline phones, said a Yankee Group report, signaling that landlines are fading fast as a growing number of subscribers use mobile phones to make the bulk of their calls. The report comes as no surprise to big telecom companies that for several years have been busy shifting their businesses to focus more on wireless. The rapid decline in the once bread-and-butter wireline business is further evidence that companies need to embrace the change, according to analysts.
�The landline is going the way of the glove-box cell phone,� said Yankee Group�s wireless global practice leader Keith Mallinson. �Plenty of people have them for safety or backup but they rarely get used.� More than 65 percent of the U.S. population owns a cell phone, the Yankee Group estimates. And the average number of cell phone minutes used by U.S. subscribers grew to 754 minutes per month � almost 13 hours � by the second quarter of 2005, Mr. Mallinson added. Much of that time used to be spent on home phones.
�The landline is going the way of the glove-box cell phone,� said Yankee Group�s wireless global practice leader Keith Mallinson. �Plenty of people have them for safety or backup but they rarely get used.� More than 65 percent of the U.S. population owns a cell phone, the Yankee Group estimates. And the average number of cell phone minutes used by U.S. subscribers grew to 754 minutes per month � almost 13 hours � by the second quarter of 2005, Mr. Mallinson added. Much of that time used to be spent on home phones.