A new study from The Nielsen Company found that more than 20 million U.S. telephone households are wireless substitutors or homes without landlines. The homes rely solely on a mobile phone for their home telecommunications. The study found that these households tend to have lower incomes or be smaller households. Households where people have recently moved or changed jobs also are more likely to drop landlines.
U.S. cord cutters tend to have lower income-levels—59 percent have household incomes of $40,000 or less
Smaller households, with just one or two residents, are more likely to cut the cord than larger households
Moving or changing jobs are the biggest life events associated with cord cutting: 31 percent of cord cutters moved prior to cord cutting and 22 percent changed jobs
Wireless substitutors tend to use their mobile phones more than their landline peers, 45 percent more per phone, but still save an average $33 per month in a household of one subscriber, less $6.69 for each additional wireless resident, when they cut the cord
This is definetly a growing trend but it's not something that has satisfied everyone who has tried it. NielsenWire says that 10% of landline users experimented going mobile-only but ended up reinstating a landline service.
Alison LeBreton, vice president of client services for Nielsen Mobile, said people may eventually cut the Internet cord as well.
"Landline wireless substitution may just be the start," says LeBreton. "As wireless data networks improve and speeds become more and more competitive with broadband, some consumers may cut the Internet cord, as well, favoring wireless data cards and other access through carrier networks."
