FRAMINGHAM, Mass.-Average household mobile phone use increased to 247 minutes per month, compared with 155 minutes per month in 1999 and 89 in 1998, according to IDC’s annual Personal Wireless Communications User Survey.
“We are seeing this dramatic growth for a variety of reasons,” said Charul Vyas, research analyst with IDC’s Wireless and Mobile Communications program. “The main reason is that rate plans are becoming more affordable, enabling end users to spend more time on their phones without spending more money.”
The study also found 35 percent of the users said their household had two or more phones, and 34 percent of the users purchased their handsets from a mobile-phone company store.
