LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A growing number of Americans are getting rid of their old land-line telephones and using only cellphones, a trend led not by the high-tech elite but by people in poorer states trying to save money.
Government estimates released Wednesday show at least 30 percent of adults in 10 states — including Colorado — rely entirely on cellphones, with the highest percentage in Arkansas and Mississippi, where many cannot afford to pay for two separate lines.
Wealthier households have been slower to use wireless technology as their sole means of making calls.
“The answer’s obvious: No one has money here,” said John Daigle, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Mississippi with broad experience in the telecommunications industry. “If they can do without a land line, they’ll do it to save money.”
William Phillips of North Little Rock says he grew tired of paying for a land line his family rarely used. So he and his wife dumped their old phone and rely on prepaid cellphones that cost a total of $75 a month.
Phillips, a 39-year-old commercial pilot, taught his 12-year-old son, who doesn’t have a phone, how to e-mail him when the boy is at home.
In eight states besides Arkansas and Mississippi — mostly in the West — at least 30 percent of adults rely strictly on cellphones: Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas.
“I was taught to have a house phone at home, whether you use it or not,” said Dale West, 40, who carries a $60-a-month cellphone and pays about $35 a month for his land line. “Even though you got a cellphone, you never know.”
