Tech Trend 247

When we write about cord-cutting, it’s almost always under the guise of users who are dropping traditional cable service for subscription video on-demand (SVOD) content. But a new report from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), shows that increasingly, more and more Americans are not just dropping cable television, but cable broadband.

The report, which we spotted via Quartz, is interesting because it shows that between 2013 and 2015, “the proportion of online households that relied exclusively on mobile service at home doubled.”

In other words, more and more people now rely solely on mobile Internet for their connectivity needs.

According to the NTIA’s survey, which was collected from 53,000 households in July 2015, 20 percent of households use mobile-only Internet.

That rise has come at the expense of wired broadband. And although the trend has happened across demographics, the most notable shift is in low-income households.

According to the data, 29% of households with a family income of less than $25,000 get online solely through mobile devices.

Why is this happening

With the advent of LTE and more robust data plans, the move to mobile-only Internet makes some sense.

29% of households with a family income of under $25,000 get online solely through mobile devices

Depending on where you live and your Internet provider, mobile broadband can often be faster than wired broadband. I live in Brooklyn and although we pay for 100 Mbps Internet, I only get those speeds on a wired connection. If I’m honest, my speed tests from my wireless carrier (Verizon) are often faster than what I can get from the cable company.

Now, extrapolate that scenario to parts of the country where fiber isn’t being rolled out and broadband cable is getting faster, but still trails behind many other developed nations.

At the same time, we see carriers such as T-Mobile moving to expand LTE and 4G coverage to more and more parts of rural America.

The reality is, the speeds you get on your phone are now good enough to get online, stream video, listen to music and more.

For a lot of households, it might not make sense to subscribe to both wired Internet and wireless service, especially if the speeds are about the same.

In its 2015 broadband report, the FCC said 60% of Internet traffic came from video.

And it's true, mobile video can eat a lot of a user’s data plan – but it’s also true that wireless carriers are trying to make mobile video usage more attractive. T-Mobile’s Binge-On plans let customers stream Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and other services without it counting against their data caps.

How we access the Internet is increasingly mobile

And it’s not just about speeds or money. It also comes down to how consumers are accessing the Internet.

A decade ago, getting online meant pulling out a laptop or desktop computer. Today, it often means swiping on your smartphone.

The smartphone edged out the laptop as the most widely-used computing device

The NTIA notes that Americans are increasingly using smartphones as their primary Internet access device. In 2015, the smartphone edged out the laptop as the most widely used computing device.

And if you’re primarily accessing the Internet on your phone, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to also pay for Internet in your home. This is even more true for low-income households.

And since most wireless carriers have liberal tethering policies, users can still extend their mobile Internet to their non-mobile devices.

Is this the next cord-cutting trend?

The NTIA’s report states that for most households, wired broadband is still the preferred way to access the Internet. And when it comes to cost/performance, for many users, that will remain.

But it’s interesting to see just how many users have migrated from wired broadband to mobile-only in the span of two years.

If wireless carriers can continue to raise data caps, it stands to reason that more more consumers, especially those who are more price conscious, will move to mobile-only Internet.

And if that happens, it raises interesting questions about the role – or potential role – of wireless ISPs on the horizon. 

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.