The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a study showing that the national trend to cut landlines and use cellphones only in household has climbed to nearly 22% which is significantly higher than the reported AARP rate of 15%.
The trend shows that that cutting landlines isn't slowing down but gaining momentum due to the economy and/or simply because people no longer want to rely upon landline services and prefer mobility instead. What will be revealing is whether or not a year from now the trend continues and by what rate.
Consumer Reports has stated what I wrote long ago about landline disconnects and concerns about reliance upon cell phones in times of emergencies. What is apparently of little use is the requirement by some States that landline carriers provide "soft" or "warm" dialtone services to allow 911 calls for a period of 30 days or less on disconnected landlines. This requirement is grossly misaligned with the actual real world need.
In a previous post I discussed the possibility of what would happen if landline abandonment rates reached 25 percent. Recently in Ohio, proposed legislation to "allow landline companies to compete with mobile companies" proposes deregulation and the ability to raise landline prices by $1.25 per month per year without getting prior approval from the PUC in Ohio. My guess in the last post was, "With a 25% nationwide abandonment of landlines in both consumer and commercial markets, my guess is that landlines will drop in price as the Telcos try to entice users to keep their landlines."
Looks like the Telcos are doing just the opposite of what I thought would happen. What I don't understand is how the Telcos can justify thinking that their landline services can compete with "mobility," the one thing that clearly people want, not the high cost of tethering themselves to the old ball and chain. What's also disturbing is that the FCC has been charging users the tax for "local number portability" for years and now that people are abandoning landlines and porting their numbers to their cells the Telcos want to raise the rent on landlines? So much for enticement. Just to add that I've been reflecting on art and life again and Roger Miller comes to mind with his rendition of King of the Road. For you older cats--go here instead.
