Study: Consumers go wireless at home. "People are pulling the plug on traditional phone lines at home as wireless service and broadband connections become cheaper, according to Forrester Research." [CNET News.com]

That's what my friend and colleague Kate is doing.  She has a cable modem at home and a 16-year old daughter with a cell phone.  When she moved last summer, she kept wondering why she was having a landline phone installed in the new place, and now she realizes she doesn't need it after all.  So she got herself a cell phone, and it's goodbye, Ameritech! Now if we only had better cellular coverage like they do in Europe and Asia....

The article continues, "By 2006, more than 5 million U.S. homes will start using mobile and high-speed broadband networks as their primary connection, according to Forrester. That would make wireless services the primary means of communications in 11 percent of households." My seven-year old has already asked for a cell phone.  She's seven!  Okay, she'll be eight in March, but she's seven now and she wants a cell phone! Don't tell me these kids aren't going to grow up using their [portable] phones to pull in information.

Cellphones in Japan: A small pictorial report "DSLR recently spent a short time in Japan and instead of just getting jealous of the state of the cellular network there, snapped some pictures to prove that despite the well reported Japanese economic slump, Japan continues to maintain its network and handset lead over the USA and Europe .. " [in DSL Reports via MeFi]

Oooh, I'm so jealous!  Asia and Europe are 12-18 months ahead of us in wireless technologies and adoption, so this isn't surprising.  There are reasons for the wide reach of wireless in Japan, but I still think we'll see a similar situation here as the Net Generation grows up with portable communications devices.  We're going to have to start thinking of the cell phone as an information appliance, not just a long-distance walkie talkie.  Remember - information is coming to you wherever you are.