Posted on 05/07/2009 12:36:28 AM PDT by JoeProBono
In a high-tech shift accelerated by the recession, the number of U.S. households opting for only cell phones has for the first time surpassed those that just have traditional landlines. It is the freshest evidence of the growing appeal of wireless phones. Twenty percent of households had only cells during the last half of 2008, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey released Wednesday. That was an increase of nearly 3 percentage points over the first half of the year, the largest six-month increase since the government started gathering such data in 2003.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
I’m glad I’m not the only one up at this hour....
We dropped our landline a long time ago.
Ha-ha. My hubby’s on his way to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO for our oldest’s ARMY graduation today. I’ve been on the phone with him every hour making sure he doesn’t fall asleep.
I wish I could attribute the quote ( It’s somewhere far back in my stack of stuff ) but I remember reading a comment about the sea change cell phones were making in society because “a conventional phone connected you to the room the phone was in, and you had to hope someone in the room could fetch the person you wanted to talk to, but a cell phone connected you directly to that person.”
I’m not sure what good a land line does in today’s communicaiton environment...... I’ve been without one for almost 4 years now.
Out here in the country a cell phone is a little battery-powered thing with numbers that light up.
Me, too. It will be five years in August.
I’ve thought about doing the same thing however I’m concerned about 911 coverage. If I dial 911 from my cell phone at my residence will emergency management be able to pinpoint the exact location of the call if I’m unable to communicate that to them?
I was just getting ready to ask the same question.
The CDC is not conducting studies specifically about cell phone use. They conduct a variety of studies about health and health care use and cost, and the cell phone question is just one of the screening questions, incidental to the main study. As health interviewers try to get in touch with study participants, they ask whether contact phone numbers are for cells or landline phones. This scientist just culled and put together some data in an interesting way.
I can see how merely asking the question of study patients might be useful, as there have been so many assertions that cell phone use is connected to brain cancer. If people are giving up their landlines and exclusively using cell phones, it would be good to get some numbers on that and then later compare rates of brain cancer. Or since there is a differential preference for cell-only use in poor households, it might be possible to pin an increase in brain cancer to some other aspect of the lives of poor people. So research advances.
I have a phone line for my Internet connection but there hasn’t been a phone connected to the thing in years. All a home phone does these days is attract sales calls and I have no need for those.
I must be the oddball, I’m getting ready to drop my cellphone service this week.
victim of the economy
We dropped our land line because it was a horrible connection - barely useful for voice, and impossible for modem (we live way out in the sticks so cable internet isn’t an option).
We have 3 cells, plus a wireless modem card. One cell each for Mom and Dad, plus one for the house. The modem serves a mini-network of 3-4 computers (I sometimes have my work laptop connected).
Why would I want to pay $50+ per month for the privilege of hearing static and getting a 14Kbps connection?
How do you get your internet. That’s the only reason we still have a landline.
Check all the major providers for coverage. Only AT&T covers our area - but it’s an excellent signal.
I get internet through my cable company. Much faster than dial up or DSL.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.