Tenth of Broadband Homes to Sever Fixed Service Over Next Year, Says Parks

Ten percent of U.S. broadband households are likely to cancel their fixed broadband service over the next 12 months, replacing it with their wireless or mobile data services, said a Parks Associates report Thursday. The findings signal more of the migration away from fixed-line phone services in favor of cellular, with 8 percent of U.S. broadband households planning to cancel fixed-line service over the same period, Parks said. Currently, 51 percent of U.S. broadband households have fixed-line phone service, it said. “The diminishing use of fixed-line voice services may foreshadow the decline of fixed-broadband Internet services as the mobile data capabilities of smartphones increase and mobile carriers in the U.S. re-introduce their unlimited data plans,” said analyst Harry Wang. Younger consumers are more likely to go “completely mobile” for their internet needs, said Wang, while 15 percent of household heads ages 25-34 said they’re likely to cancel fixed broadband service over the next 12 months.