A recent report shows that some consumers value mobility far more than they value high-speed fixed Internet services, prompting them to drop their home Internet service in favor of wireless broadband connections.
As first reported by the Wall Street Journal, consumer surveys conducted by the Leichtman Research Group revealed that 1 percent of U.S. households canceled their home Internet service last year in favor of relying on wireless access provided via mobile networks or public Wi-Fi networks.
Service costs most often drive the cancelation of home service as consumers decide they cannot afford both wired and wireless Internet access and opt instead for only the latter.
The decline of unlimited wireless data plans means the shift to wireless Internet access increasingly makes economic sense only in cases of light Internet use. Nonetheless, Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project reported in November 2012 that 56 percent of mobile phone owners access the Internet through their phones, up from only 25 percent in 2008.
"This is especially prevalent among those under 50, the well-educated and those living in households with a higher annual income. African-Americans and Hispanic cell phone owners are more likely than whites to access the Internet through their phone," according to the Pew report.
In addition, a study released by Pew in March 2013 revealed that compared with the 15 percent of adults who mostly access the Internet via their phones, one in four teen smartphone owners are strictly mobile Internet users. That likely portends more Internet cord cutting in the future as younger generations continue to demand Internet access on the go rather than be satisfied with a tethered broadband experience.
For more:
- se this Wall Street Journal article (sub. req.)
- see GigaOM article
- see this PCMag article
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