Wireless Substitution Survey Sheds Light on Drunk-Dialing Phenomenon
by John Paczkowski
Posted on September 17, 2008 at 10:37 AM PT
Nearly one in five households has abandoned traditional landline telephones in favor of their wireless counterparts. That’s the word from Nielsen, which says that already, 17 percent of households lack a traditional landline telephone.
“As wireless network quality improves and unlimited calling becomes increasingly pervasive, we expect the trend toward wireless substitution to continue,” Alison LeBreton, vice president of client services for Nielsen Mobile, said in a news release. “In a tightening economy every dollar counts, and consumers are more and more comfortable with the idea of ditching their landline connection.”
An interesting trend and one that seems likely to continue as landlines become more of an extraneous expense. The average landline phone household spends $40 a month for that service–$480 a year. Cut the cord and you save yourself a few hundred dollars to spend on something else.
Like booze. Because according to another survey, this one from The National Center for Health Statistics, wireless-only adults enjoy getting liquored-up far more than their landline-loving brethren. From the survey:
The prevalence of binge drinking (i.e., having five or more alcoholic drinks in one day during the past year) among wireless-only adults (37.1 percent) was twice as high as the prevalence among adults living in landline households (16.9 percent).”
(Photo courtesy Justin Hancock)
