2. Summary
Wireless phone users are highly satisfied customers and
view their wireless service as an essential part of their
lives.
It is clear that wireless phone consumers are against
increasing or adding new wireless taxes and fees.
An overwhelming majority supports Congress passing a 5-
year freeze on all new wireless taxes and fees and the
majority prefers creating federal guidelines that establish
one fair and consistent set of taxes to apply to purchases of
online digital downloads.
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3. Cell Phone Satisfaction
Overall, are you satisfied or
dissatisfied with your cell phone
94%
of wireless phone
service?
• More than 9 in 10 (94%) wireless phone
consumers are satisfied with their wireless
phone service.
customers are
satisfied with their
• The majority (51%) is “very” satisfied. This
service.
high level of satisfaction is broad and intense
across all demographics.
• Only 6% are dissatisfied with their wireless
phone service.
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4. Cutting the Cord
Would you consider giving up your home landline
phone and only use a cell phone?
29%
Already Has
41% Would Consider
Won't Consider
31%
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5. Cutting the Cord - Continued
Would you consider giving up your home landline
phone and only use a cell phone?
• Consumers 55 years old or younger are more likely to
“cut the cord” than older consumers.
• Four in five 18-29 year olds already have (38%) or would
consider (44%) giving up their home landline phone.
Conversely, nearly two-thirds (65%) of seniors wouldn’t
give up their home landline phone.
• More women (31%) than men (25%) have already “cut
the cord.”
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6. Wireless is an Essential Service
Four in five (81%) wireless phone users
consider their wireless service as essential as
utilities, home landline phones or cable
television.
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7. Wireless Productivity
81%
Believe the
wireless device(s)
make them more
productive.
Does your wireless device make you more
productive at work?
• Among those who use a wireless device for work, 81% believe the
wireless device(s) make them more productive at work.
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8. Taxes and Fees
of wireless customers have no idea what
25 % they pay in taxes and fees.
Among those who gave an estimate,
the average answer was 9.9%
The national average tax
and fee rate is 17.1%
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9. A 5-Year Freeze on All New Wireless
Taxes and Fees?
81%
Support Congress passing a 5-year freeze
on all new wireless taxes and fees
This level of support is
both wide and deep
among all political and
demographic groups.
Eight in ten
Republicans, Democrats
and Independents favor
freezing wireless taxes
and fees.
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10. Will a 5-Year Freeze Impact Revenue?
Do you believe that temporarily freezing state and local
wireless tax rates will have a negative impact on
revenue?
26%
No
16%
58% Yes
Don't Know
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11. Cell Phone Satisfaction
Do you think the tax rate on your monthly cell phone
service should be lower, the same or higher than the
taxes you pay on general goods and services, which is
approximately 7%?
54%
believe the tax
44%
believe the tax
rate should be rate should be
lower. same.
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12. Is 17% Too High?
Do you believe a combined state and local
tax rate above 17% for wireless services is
not enough, about right or too much?
84%
believe this tax
rate is too high.*
* This overwhelming sentiment cuts across
all demographic and political lines.
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13. Purchasing Digital Goods
61%
of wireless consumers The younger consumers are, the more
purchase online digital likely they are to purchase digital
downloads to their downloads and at a greater frequency.
wireless phone or other
wireless device. African-American (71%) and Hispanic
(75%) consumers are more active in
downloading digital goods than White
consumers (56%).
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14. Who Can Tax Your Digital Goods?
Should multiple state and local jurisdictions each have
the ability to impose their own tax on a digital good or
service, such as an app, ringtone or video, even if it
means you could pay multiple taxes for the same
digital good or service?
No
Yes
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15. On the Issue of Taxing Digital
Downloads
Which statement do you agree with more?
Federal guidelines should establish one fair and
consistent set of taxes to apply to purchases of
online digital downloads.
61
%
Each state should have the right to decide how
its state taxes the purchases of online digital
downloads, even if it means the consumer could
be subject to taxes from multiple jurisdictions for
the same purchase.
20
%
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16. Methodology
McLaughlin & Associates partnered with Penn Schoen Berland to develop and
conduct a bipartisan national survey of 1,000 adult wireless phone users, who
are likely voters. The survey was conducted between November 28 and
December 1, 2012. All interviews were conducted online. Interview selection
was at random within predetermined geographic units. These units were
structured to statistically correlate with actual voter turnout for a general
election. The accuracy of the sample of 1,000 adult wireless phone users, who
are likely voters, is within +/- 3.1% at a 95% confidence interval. The survey
results in this summary have been rounded and the wording for each question
is verbatim from the questionnaire.
For more information, visit http://www.mywireless.org
For full survey results and data tables, visit: http://www.mywireless.org/media-
center/data-center/
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