Survey: Millions May Cut Cell Service, Costly Extras

Deepening concerns about the recession already have caused millions of U.S. consumers to cut back on their cell phone spending, and millions more are poised to join their ranks if the economic downturn continues as expected for another six months, according to a survey of 2,005 Americans conducted by Opinion Research Corp. for the New Millennium Research Council.

The NMRC-commissioned survey indicates that the resulting shift in consumer habits is likely to come at the expense of contract-based cell phone service as more consumers seek to save money by using prepaid cell phones and cutting out cell phone "extras." The ORC poll is the first of a planned series of annual NMRC surveys intended to benchmark consumer attitudes about cell phone use as the economy rises and falls over time.