Nielsen Claritas tracked consumer behavior across a wide range of telecommunication products and services to identify this year’s key trends.
Cord Cutting Craze
Wireless/cellular only homes, which grew by 20% in 2008, now account for 18% of all U.S. households.  One-third of the wireless-only households have never had a landline, while the remaining two-thirds are cord cutters. Not surprisingly, cord-cutter households tend to be younger and are more likely to rent/lease their home.  Expect the wireless-only trend to grow, as homes continue to drop their landlines and young adults start new households …

One in five U.S. households could be without a landline phone by the end of 2008, according to a white paper released Wednesday by Nielsen Mobile.
Seventeen percent of U.S. households — 20 million homes — have already ditched their home landlines, relying instead on mobile phones, Nielsen reported.
These “wireless substitutors” tend to live in smaller households with just one or two residents and have lower income-levels — 59% have household incomes of $40,000 or less.  A significant number moved (31%) or changed jobs (22%) just before discontinuing their landline service.