More and more homes ditching landlines

Stephen Blumberg, senior scientist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and an author of the report, said there is no evidence the trend is slowing. He said the recession may fuel it further, especially as cell phone prices drop and their coverage and features improve. “There’s clearly a reason to give up a landline phone if budgets are tight,” he said in an interview. “Given the current economic environment, I’d not be surprised to see more and more people give up their landline phones for economic reasons.”

The growth in landline-only is considerable. It was just 7 percent three years ago, in 2005, and was 16 percent in the second half of 2007. Not only is a recession spiking the number, but also the number of young people moving into their own homes. I know few 20-somethings that have a landline. This is backed up by another survey finding: 34 percent of renters are cell-only, while just 9 percent of home owners are. Have you ditched your landline yet?]]>