Wireless edges out fixed-line for the first time

Total US household spending on wireless services has overtaken fixed-line offerings to account for the bulk of dollars spent on telecoms services, newly published research has claimed.

According to the most recent data from communications analyst firm TNS Telecoms, a third of spending on telecoms services during the second quarter of 2004 was dedicated to wireless services.

In contrast, wired line services represented 29 per cent of spending, a drop of three per cent from the previous quarter.

The average US household spent $47.87 on wireless services each month, and a total of $158.88 on all telecoms services.

At the same time, the second-quarter results also show that growth in total telecoms spending has stalled, with a decline of one per cent from the spending in the previous quarter, the TNS report said.

"These results represent the nature of the hyper-dynamic telecoms market today," said Charles White, vice president of TNS Telecoms.

"As the total size of the market stalls, service providers will increasingly be battling against other telecoms services for growth."

As of the second quarter of this year, 70 per cent of households indicated that they have at least one wireless phone with the average spend on wireless services accounting for $69.94 each month.

Alternatively, 96 per cent of households have a fixed wired line in their home with an average spending of $54.78, but both of these wired line numbers continue to decline, albeit slowly.