Skip to main content
News

U.S. total phone subscriptions change and grow

Each year the FCC collects information on subscribers from providers of local telephone service, including, since 2008, VoIP providers. This month the Industry Analysis and Technology Division published 2012’s findings. In all, most Americans have telephone service, and many have more than one. As the FCC summarized:

“In December 2012, there were 96 million end-user switched access lines in service, 42 million interconnected VoIP subscriptions, and 305 million mobile subscriptions in the United States, or 443 million retail local telephone service connections in total.”

Not surprisingly, with new technologies often supplanting older ones, there have been changes in these numbers. Over the past three years, landlines have slipped nine percent a year; VoIP has grown 17 percent a year; and mobile has grown four percent a year.

To see the statistics and analysis in detail, read the full report here.

Local Telephone Competition: Status as of December 31, 2012 (FCC Industry Analysis and Technology Division, Nov. 2013)