Traditional landline telephones seem to be going the way
of the telegraph in America, analysts say.
Americans are unplugging their phones in favour of
mobiles at a rate of 700,000 a month, and one in four households now relies
solely on mobiles. At the current rate, the traditional plug-in telephone
will disappear from American homes by 2025.
According to the Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention, which collects data it uses for health surveys, in 2005, only 7.3
percent of households relied only on mobiles phones. But by the end of 2008,
more than 20 percent of households used only mobiles. The trend carries far-reaching implication for polling
firms, businesses, telemarketers and emergency responders, who rely on call-tracing
software that works on landlines.
At the moment the telemarketers have a hell of a job
contacting people on mobiles and annoying them. It also means that those who
bother you will calls to find out which political party you will vote for and
what colour your toothpaste is, will be only finding out information from
luddites.