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Yes, you read the headline right. Roughly a third of the U.S. population has completely ditched their landline in favor of a cell phone only lifestyle. I count myself among them. In fact, many 20-somethings fall into this new category. We’ve become so used to using our cell phones that having a second line that no one calls seems a bit pointless. And you know what? With the unlimited plans hitting the major carriers, people now have more of an incentive to ditch the landline. The $99 per month fee might seem steep, but consider that you’re also cutting out the landline bill. After all, why pay for two phones when one gives you unlimited calling?
Read the rest of Cell phone only population grows to 33 million…

If you believe those AT&T commercials, we’re all in tune with acronyms. Unfortunately, not all of them are as straightforward as “IDK” and “BFF.” In the mobile industry, acronyms are everywhere — and I’m not even talking about as they relate to text messages. I’m talking particularly about GSM and CDMA. These two acronyms are at the very core of cellular communications, and are essential for a basic understanding of the industry. It doesn’t help that many writers use the terms as if they’re familiar to everyone. So today I’m going to explain what the two are, and what they mean to your mobile experience.
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So the week is about to close, and I’m hoping I don’t have to hear the word “unlimited” for quite a while. Though I know I will, since Sprint still hasn’t committed to anything. They will eventually one way or the other, but in the interim, I’m hoping to talk about things other than unlimited plans. Since we’re at the end of the week, though, I thought I’d completely exhaust the topic and discuss what the cell phone carriers really gained by introducing unlimited calling plans starting at $99. Please keep in mind that despite my reading a slew of telecommunications news, this is still an outsider’s opinion.
Read the rest of What did they really accomplish with unlimited?…

So if Sprint and Verizon are offering unlimited voice plans, where does that leave AT&T and T-Mobile? Nowhere if they don’t do anything. But they’ve both responded to the quick maneuvers by the Nos. 2 and 3 carriers in the nation, and have announced their own brand of unlimited voice plans. This actually makes Sprint look a little silly. I know it might have sounded otherwise yesterday, but they’re just running trials of unlimited. Their fiercest competitors, though, have taken the splash without testing the waters. Is it just me, or does this perfectly symbolize why Sprint is losing out?
Read the rest of AT&T, T-Mobile quick to unlimited party…

This announcement comes as kind of surprise, at least for Verizon. Sprint had been talking about it for a while — CEO Dan Hesse had mentioned the possibility in public — but I hadn’t seen anything about Verizon’s shift. Yes, both companies now plan to offer unlimited calling for a monthly flat rate. This puts a bit of pressure on regional prepaid providers MetroPCS and Cricket, as well as Sprint’s prepaid offering, Boost Unlimited. However, as you’ll see in a few paragraphs, the pricing isn’t really comparable at all.
Read the rest of Verizon, Sprint to offer flat-rate, unlimited plans…

It’s always fun to link to and discuss articles like this. InCode, subsidiary of the consulting firm VeriSign, has made 10 bold predictions regarding the immediate future of the wireless industry. These are supposedly to “help technology vendors and consumers better plan for the coming year.” However, we like them for entertainment and debate value. After the jump, we’ll list ‘em.
Read the rest of Predicting wireless in 2008…

Did you know that in 2006, residential and pay phone spending was just $18 more per household than cell phone bills? So it makes absolute sense that 2007 is the year that cell phones become king. And that’s just on a residential level. If we’re going to take business into the equation, the cell phone superiority has been going on for years. But from a residential standpoint, this is just the beginning.
Read the rest of Cell phone spending to overtake landlines this year…

That number puts in a semi state of shock. Two-hundred fifty million? We remember when the population of the U.S. was around that number — and that wasn’t more than five years ago. Just 10 years ago, there were 48 million U.S. wireless subscribers, and about 20 years ago there were just over 200,000. The craziest part is that there is still plenty of room for growth.
Read the rest of U.S. wireless subscribers top 250 million…

Interesting report in PC World. It seems that cell subscriptions have reached 3.3 billion, which is half the world’s population. Of course, this can be a bit misleading. We know our share of people who have two cell phones, and hell, we know one or two who tote around three devices. This comes in 26 years after we first saw a cell network launched.
Read the rest of Cell subscriptions reach half of world population…

We just came across this Consumer Reports survey of cell phone service, and we can’t say we’re surprised at the findings. Fewer than half of U.S. users are satisfied with the service provided to them. The survey comprised 47,000 respondents covering 20 major metro areas. They have spoken, and it’s not in favor of the carriers.
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The top complaint was mandatory contract extensions. Thankfully, most of the major carriers have stopped this practice over the past few months, so one of the top concerns of consumers has been all but eliminated.

What’s crazy is that satisfaction was marginally higher than last year. As expected, T-Mobile and Verizon topped out the customer service ratings, though Alltel wasn’t far behind.

The Press of Atlantic City offers five suggestions for consumers to get the best cell deal. Check out the article for the full descriptions.

1. Look for mobile-to-mobile. AT&T and Verizon have all-in MtM deals, while T-Mobile’s and Alltel’s aren’t as comprehensive.
2. Look for rollover minutes. Currently only available through AT&T.
3. Use parental controls. They’re only widely available through AT&T and Alltel now.
4. Consider text messaging and data while shopping around.
5. Consider prepaid.

[Press of Atlantic City]