One of the myriad of things that governmental agencies have been studying lately is the rapidly-increasing usage of cell phones and in particular, the shifting over to cell-only usage and the gradual abandonment of wired phone service.
Earlier this year, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), who have been assigned this tracking study, released some preliminary findings of a more extensive study into this sociological shift. They have found, among other things, that:
- More than one-half of all adults living with unrelated roommates (56.9%) lived in households with only wireless telephones. This is the highest prevalence rate among the population subgroups examined.
- Adults renting their home (30.9%) were more likely than adults owning their home (7.3%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.
- More than one in three adults aged 25-29 years (34.5%) lived in households with only wireless telephones. Nearly 31% of adults aged 18-24 years lived in households with only wireless telephones.
- As age increased, the percentage of adults living in households with only wireless telephones decreased: 15.5% for adults aged 30-44 years; 8.0% for adults aged 45-64 years; and 2.2% for adults aged 65 years and over.
- Men (15.9%) were more likely than women (13.2%) to be living in households with only wireless telephones.
- Adults living in poverty (27.4%) were more likely than higher income adults to be living in households with only wireless telephones.
You can read the entire preliminary report HERE. That last button is particularly relevant for 911 and dispatch people who are involved in planning and preparations for emergency call centers.
Another group consisting of 30 universities that have combined their resources into studying this trend has broken the cell-only statistics into a state-by-state graphic:
[photopress:cellphone_only_users.jpg,full,centered]
There are some surprises there, too, aren’t there? Since fire and EMS services rely heavily on telephone reporting of emergencies, it behooves us to keep these trends in mind while planning and even currently responding to calls for service. Dispatch centers will be undergoing a lot of changes as a result of this. We’ve already discussed in the past this new practice of using cell phones to send instant photographs and how we should be taking advantage of this. What better size-up aid than being able to send a picture of an incident in its early stages right to the onboard terminal of the 1st-in engine or the battalion chief?
The land-line folks won’t be going away entirely for a while, though. If you’ve been watching you’ve noticed that the traditional telephone companies have replaced all their lines with fiber-optics and are now offering internet and tv service along the telephone lines. Will that be enough for them to hang on? Time will tell.
Speaking of time, it is now time to get this equipment checked out. I need to get some coffee going.
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