Broadband may be growing faster than we think

Another misperception about broadband, according to the PIALP, is that broadband and wireless use by teenagers and those who use “social media” has made the landline telephone obsolete.

It's true that the data on Internet usage is staggering. Thirty-nine percent of teens share artistic creations online. More than a quarter of them have personal Web pages, create and use journals and remix content for their own purposes. Thirty-five percent of all teen girls blog — 15% more than their male counterparts.

But don't disconnect those landlines yet. They are the No. 1 method of communication for kids from 12 to 17. The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association was pleased with this finding because it confirms what the organization has been seeing in its own research and that of the Foundation for Rural Service. Their data shows that 70% of teen respondents to a survey cited landline as their preferred method of communication at home.

“Despite dire predictions of the demise of landline telephone service, today's communications-oriented teens rely most heavily on landlines … for their day-to-day social interactions,” said Michael Brunner, CEO of the NTCA.

However, those teens that use multiple channels of communication want every option open to them — and their loyalty is fickle. E-mail already is waning, with only 14% of teens using it on a daily basis.

ADOPTION TIME FOR CONSUMER TECHNOLOGIES

MULTICHANNEL TEENS ARE SUPER COMMUNICATORS

Percentage of teens who communicate with friends every day via these methods …