Is "Home Phone Number" a Thing of the Past?"
The USA based Messaging Industry Association (TMIA) has published information based on data accumulated over four years regarding the use of wire-line phones in US homes. The trend shows a clear attrition in the use of home telephones particularly by young adults. The most dramatic numbers appear in the 18-25 and 25-35 age groups, where close to 90% of those surveyed had home telephones in 2003. After four years, the survey shows that only 67% and 75% of respondents in those age groups, respectively, had home telephones.
The decline has been particularly significant in the last two years, representing a loss of about 15% in each age group.
"One might expect that as young people settle down and start families, there would be an up-tick in land-line usage," said Tom Harper, Executive Director, TMIA. "Instead, what we're seeing is that people who were 18 in the late nineties, when mobile phone usage surged, are now at the age where they start to settle down and have families. But they are not necessarily subscribing to wire-line home telephone services."
Harper notes that recent reports by The Gartner Group and In-Stat show land-line usage holding strong with those who currently have home services. It was suggested that 87% of landline users had no plans to abandon their home phone.
"This is corroborated by our research, which shows very little change among users 36 and older," said Harper. "However, we interpret that the big decline is among those who have never had a land line. In essence, the industry must come to terms with the fact that those who own home lines will eventually die, and many of these lines will not be replaced by new subscribers."
What does this mean for an industry in flux? First off, it's critical for companies to understand that the more immediate threat to wireline is a new generation of consumers who acquire mobile phones as teenagers and never subscribe to a wireline service.
"For over 100 years the family shared a wireline telephone in the home community. This was their only choice to stay connected." continues Harper. "With individual wireless service, the consumer now has choice. Industry players must recognize this as they design and promote the benefits of voice services for the home."
The above data was accumulated by TMIA through its annual online survey of 1,500 respondents from across the USA. Respondents were random adults over 18 years of age."
Posted to the site on 23rd May 2007
