Nearly Half Of All U.S. Households Could Switch From Wireline To Wireless.

The FCC ordered this week that wireline customers be allowed to take (“port”) their telephone numbers with them if they drop their wireline service for a mobile wireless service. This order may lead to increased displacement of wireline service by wireless among U.S. households, according to the findings of a recent consumer research report by PriMetrica, Inc. in partnership with Ernst & Young.

The study, based on a nationally representative survey of 700 U.S. households conducted during the first quarter of 2003, found that nearly one-half of those households would switch from their primary wireline service to a family-share wireless plan offering 600 shared anytime minutes for $50 per month.

The findings of the study also suggest that perceived quality of service is no longer sufficient to engender loyalty. The average satisfaction rating given by a household to its wireline service provider was high. However, there was no difference in this rating between households who said they would be willing to switch to the mobile wireless service (and completely drop their wireline service) and those who said they would not.

Dr. Kevin Duffy-Deno, Director of Analytical Services at PriMetrica and primary author of the study noted, “Although the study did not directly address phone number portability, the practical implication of these findings is that once households are free to take their wireline phone numbers with them, perceived quality of service from their wireline provider may not be a barrier to their ‘cutting the cord’ and going with a mobile wireless service for their household voice communications needs.”