Cell phone-only households on rise

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DETROIT, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- For the first time Michigan has more cell phone lines than corded landlines.

The number of landlines in the state shrunk by about 1 million in 2005, to 5.7 million, while the number of cell phone subscribers grew by 2 million, to 6.6 million, the Detroit News reported.

The number of wireless-only households grew from 6 percent in 2004 to 8.4 percent in 2005, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association said.

The growth in cell phone-only households is part of a national trend led by 18- to 24-year-olds who use the Internet, says Jupiter Research, which focuses on the Internet and emerging consumer technologies.

Nearly one in four adults in this group use only a cell phone, with no landline service, Jupiter says. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, the figure is one in six.

While kids are leading the charge, their aunts, uncles and grandmothers are also hanging up on the old-fashioned home phone that once was the centerpiece of communication with the outside world, Jupiter says.