Report: More Americans Rely Solely On Cell Phones

(Atlanta-WWJ) Government estimates show at least 30 percent of adults in ten states are ditching traditional landlines to rely entirely on cell phones.

Michigan ranks 12th nationally. Twenty-nine percent of adult residents in our state are in homes without landlines.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the highest percentages are in poorer states like Arkansas and Mississippi, where many people can't afford  both a cell phone and a traditional phone bill.

In Mississippi, which has the highest poverty rate in the nation, 35 percent of adults have cell phones only.

"No one has money here," says John Daigle, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Mississippi. "If they can do without a landline, they'll do it to save money."

New Jersey and Rhode Island have the smallest proportion of residents who depend entirely on wireless phones, according to the study.

(Copyright 2011 WWJ Newsradio 950. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press Contributed To This Story.)