November 25, 2014
Released November 25, 2014
USTelecom analysis of state-by-state data show competition for voice service remains substantial and growing across all of the states. By 2012, there was not a single state in which landline telephone service from a traditional voice provider was used by more than half the households — the range was 22 percent to 45 percent and these shares have continued to fall. This research updates previous USTelecom analyses quantifying the portion of households, by state, who chose either to disconnect landline service altogether and go wireless-only, or to use alternative landline services, especially cable telephony and “interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).” It complements USTelecom analysis of national voice competition with more granular state detail and shows that voice competition is widespread, not driven by a handful of competitive areas. The analysis provides ongoing support for USTelecom’s October 2014 petition for regulatory modernization, expeditious resolution of Internet Protocol (IP) transition issues, and USTelecom’s previous petition to the FCC to find that traditional switched voice providers, known as incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs), are no longer dominant providers of voice communications.