Europeans switching to mobile phones, study shows

Almost one in five European Union households has gone wireless, cutting off their landline cables to use a mobile telephone only, a study by the EU statistical office showed on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

"Eurostat said that last year 18 percent of households had mobile phone access only as subscriptions for wireless handsets soared to 95 per 100 habitants in 2005 from eight in 1996.

The data embraced all 27 EU countries except Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the bloc this year.

The study showed that the number of households relying only on a mobile telephone tended to be higher in EU newcomers from central and eastern Europe -- 42 percent in the Czech Republic, compared with 11 percent in Germany.

In Finland, home of mobile giant Nokia, 47 percent of households had mobile phones and no fixed lines. Still, in Sweden, where rival Ericsson s based, zero percent of households relied only on mobile telephony."

emily | 5:50 PM | |
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