Still say I gotta get me some more wireless stocks...
(COMTEX) B: Americans Using Wireless Devices More Than Ever
B: Americans Using Wireless Devices More Than Ever
Apr. 10, 2000 (PCWorld via COMTEX) -- Americans are using wireless devices more
than ever while costs have not changed significantly, according to the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association's semiannual survey.
The survey, released Monday, shows that the number of subscribers using digital
service increased 110 percent to 38.5 million as of December 31, compared with
18.3 million a year earlier.
"Clearly we've entered the digital decade," says Tom Wheeler, president and
chief executive officer of the CTIA, an international association for the
wireless telecommunications industry.
The survey shows that wireless service subscribers are using their devices an
average of 180 minutes a month, up from 130 minutes a month a year ago, or an
increase of 38.5 percent. But the average monthly bill increased just 4.6
percent to $41.24 from $39.43.
Uses Beyond Talk
Americans are using wireless devices not only to talk but also to e-mail, access
the Internet, and connect to business and home networks, Wheeler says.
"Consumers are signing on and using their phones differently than they have
historically," Wheeler adds.
The survey does not include information on how many minutes are being devoted to
data services or how many consumers are using these services. Wheeler says
future studies will concentrate on gathering these figures, but currently no
benchmarks exist to report on this area.
Setting Records
By the end of 1999, the number of U.S. wireless subscribers had grown to more
than 86.1 million, an increase of more than 24 percent from 1998.
The CTIA has conducted this survey, which includes all commercial wireless
service providers, since January 1985, when there were only 340,000 wireless
subscribers nationwide.
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By: Nicole Maestri, Medill News Service
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