FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND STUDY TO SHOW CELL PHONES COULD BE A MAJOR ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT TOOL IN U.S., BILLIONS OF ADDITIONAL DOLLARS OF INCOME

Note: No, this isn't here by accident, it's not spam! We're on the list to get updates from this group, thought this one was somewhat interesting from a number of viewpoints so we're sharing.

Older Americans, Hispanics, African-Americans, Rural Residents Stand to Gain Most; Implications Seen for Underutilized Federal, State Lifeline Programs Providing Subsidized Phone Service.

With blue-collar and low-income Americans already relying on cell phones for billions of dollars worth of jobs and other income, a push to put cell phones into the hands of the 38 percent of America’s poorest households now without them could generate billions of additional dollars for those who need it most, according to a groundbreaking new study to be released TODAY (March 26, 2008) by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Fellow Nicholas P. Sullivan.

Based on a scientific national opinion poll of more than 1,005 Americans conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) and a separate survey of more than 110,000 prepaid cell phone customers, the Sullivan report will be released at 1:30 p.m. EDT TODAY (March 26, 2008) during a live, phone-based national news conference organized by the New MillenniumResearch Council (NMRC).

With major implications for federal and state Lifeline and Link-up subsidized phone programs that currently reach relatively few low-income consumers, the Sullivan study will show that:

* The cell phone is a much more important work- and income-generating tool for low-income individuals than previously was assumed to be the case;

* A surprisingly large percentage of Americans have used their cell phones in emergency situations; and

* Cell phones are now preferred by a majority of Americans to traditional landline phones - even when consumers are forced to choose one at the expense of the other.

News event speakers will be:
* Nicholas P. Sullivan, research fellow, Center for Developmental Communications, The Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and
* Graham Hueber, senior researcher, Opinion Research Center; and
* John Breyault, director, New Millennium Research Council.

TO PARTICIPATE: Join the live, phone-based news conference (including full, two-way Q&A) at 1:30 p.m. EDT TODAY (March 26, 2008) by dialing 1(800) 860-2442. (Ask for the "cell phone user study" news event.) To hear the telenews event in its entirety, dial in at least five minutes before the start time.

An electronic copy of the Sullivan report will be available online at http://www.thenmrc.org by the time of the news event.

CAN’T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web as of 6 p.m. EDT on March 26, 2008 at http://www.thenmrc.org.

ABOUT NMRC Created in 1999, the New Millennium Research Council is a Washington, D.C. think tank. The work of NMRC focuses primarily on the fields of telecommunications and technology. The contributors to NMRC reports develop workable, real-world solutions to the issues and challenges confronting policymakers. For more information, please visit http://www.thenmrc.org on the Web.