In-Stat: Cord Cutters Grow

By Staff On Dec 17 2007 - 8:00am

More wireless subscribers are ditching their landline telephones, according to a new report from the research firm In-Stat.

Close to a quarter of current landline users would consider replacing that service with a mobile phone, the research firm noted.

In a survey of mobile phone users, In-Stat found that the average "cord cutter" is under 35 years old, and has a lower income than a traditional landline user. They use 22 percent more cellular minutes than the average respondent and forty percent more than those who show no interest in canceling landline service, In-Stat said. They also spend the most for wireless service — an average of $111 a month.

"The largest number of current cord cutters — those who do not have a landline, but rely solely on their mobile phone — are those one might expect: young, single, living alone, or sharing quarters such as a dormitory or rooming house," said Jill Meyers, In-Stat analyst in a release announcing the findings. "In many cases, these are people who are the least-likely candidates to have a landline phone."

In-Stat is owned by TWICE Magazine parent company Reed Elsevier.