Over 99% of Americans live in areas with cellular phone service, and approximately 86% of Americans subscribe to a wireless service. Many of these individuals see no reason to purchase landline service as well. Indeed, the most recent data show that more than 22% of households have “cut the cord” entirely.
Demand for VoIP service – from both cable companies and over-the-top providers such as such as Vonage, Skype, and many others – is also booming. At least 18 million households currently use a VoIP service, and it is estimated that by 2010, cable companies alone will be providing VoIP to more than 24 million customers; by 2011, there may be up to 45 million total VoIP subscribers.
Today, less than 20% of Americans rely exclusively on POTS for voice service. Approximately 25% of households have abandoned POTS altogether, and another 700,000 lines are being cut every month. From 2000 to 2008, the number of residential switched access lines has fallen by almost half, from 139 million to 75 million. Non-primary residential lines have fallen by 62% over the same period; with the rise of broadband, few customers still need a second phone line for dial-up Internet service. Total interstate and intrastate switched access minutes have fallen by a staggering 42% from 2000 through 2008. Indeed, perhaps the clearest sign of the transformation away from POTS and towards a broadband future is that there are probably now more broadband connections than telephone lines in the United States
The public policy problem, of course, is what to do with the 20% that do not have connections. Further how about those people who use the copper PSTN plant for DSL access (whether from a telco or a reseller)?
It seems that the hard problems with public policy is dealing not with the majority but with the marginal.
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