Telephia: Cell Phone Usage Highest Among African-American and Hispanic Consumers

Telephia has issued a new report that finds "African-American and Hispanic mobile consumers were heavy cell phone users in Q3." Data from the report showed that "the African-American demographic group used more than 1,200 voice minutes on average per month during the quarter. Hispanic cell phone users followed closely with 979 total voice minutes used on average per month in Q3.

Tamara Gaffney at Telephia said, "Overall growth in cell phone usage demonstrates a robust consumer demand for newer and better wireless products and services,. And the wireless industry is not the only sole beneficiary of the demand. Technological advances and better service offerings have reduced cost per minute charges for consumers over time."

Table 1: Historical Trending for Total Voice Minutes by Ethnic Group (U.S.)

                         Total Voice Minutes
                             Used (2005)
                                            Percent Growth Q1-Q3
Ethnic Group                     Q1     Q2    Q3        2005 (%)
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Black/African American          1,105 1,190 1,220                  10%
Hispanic Origin                   868   924   979                  13%
Mixed Racial Background           819   818   888                   8%
Asian or Pacific Islander         794   779   845                   6%
White/Caucasian                   580   617   632                   9%
Native American/Alaskan Native    595   600   623                   5%
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Source:  Telephia Customer Value Metrics, Q3 2005

The study also found that "consumers age 18-24 use their cell phones the most, spending more than 1300 total voice minutes on average per month" and "mobile phone usage by the younger demographic is 71 percent more than the total average minutes used by all age groups." In terms of data usage, "young adults sent and received a total of 126 SMS data messages on average per month, more than double the amount for 25-36 year old cell phone users, who had the second highest average for SMS messages sent and received with 56."

Gaffney added that Technologically advanced and savvy, Generation Y grew up with having a cell phone as part of their daily lives. But the question that still needs to be answered is whether their usage pattern is situational, because they are not tied down to a fixed line phone during most waking hours; or behavioral, as they have become accustomed to using cell phones and thus will continue being heavy users as they grow older. It is the interesting unknown that only time will tell."

Table 2: Total Voice Minutes and Calls Sent/Received by Age Demographic (U.S.)

                           Total Voice Minutes  Number of Calls
Age                                      Used         Sent/Received
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18-24                                          1,304              340
25-36                                            970              246
37-55                                            726              197
56+                                              441              119
Average Total for All Age Groups                 761              201
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Source: Telephia Customer Value Metrics, Q3 2005