New survey indicates a rise in mobile phone only households

According to results just released from the National Health Interview Survey, more than 20 percent of United States households have only wireless phones. The survey was conducted between July and December 2008 and showed an increase of almost 3 percent since the first half of 2008. Additionally, one out of every seven homes receives all or almost all of their phone calls through cell phones.

The stats were retrieved by a sampling of almost 13,000 households with each household having a minimum of one adult and one child. The National Health Interview Survey started this bi-annual survey in 2003 as a trend began to emerge that showed that more and more consumers were turning to mobile only solutions and canceling their landlines. Significantly more than one third of individuals between the age of 18 and 29 are wireless only users.

It is likely that this surge in wireless only households has occurred due to the economic downturn. As more and more people try to look for ways to save money, canceling an unnecessary landline is likely to be one of them.

Read: [NHIS]