People who have moved recently are more likely to switch their phone service over from a landline to VoIP or wireless-only service, according to a report by Telephia. The communications research company surveyed over 7,000 US households to produce its quarterly Total Communications Survey results, which showed that nearly half of all households who moved residences within the past year had switched to some form of nontraditional phone option for the home.

Of those who moved within the last year, 51 percent stayed with an old-school landline carrier, compared with 73 percent of those who had not moved recently. While only 9 percent of those who hadn't moved were using a mobile wireless carrier as their sole phone service, a surprising 25 percent of recent movers fell into that category.

Other popular nontraditional phone services among recent movers included a cable provider's phone options (13 percent), other VoIP providers (6 percent), and "other" (5 percent). Comparatively, those who had not moved recently used those same services at 10 percent, 4 percent, and 4 percent respectively.

Recent movers tend to be made up of the younger, more early-adopting crowd, according to Telephia. They may have a lower overall household income than nonmovers, but they tend to spend more on communication and entertainment services than those who have not moved recently. It's also easier to consider new telephony options when moving, because all household services enter a state of flux before settling on something new. "Movers tend to consider all available connectivity options in an unconstrained purchase environment," said Telephia's product director Christianne Pang in a statement.

VoIP and mobile-only solutions tend to be cheaper than landline options. But while price alone doesn't seem to be enough to make most customers switch services, those in the throes of a move are often more motivated to go with cheaper services.

The trend could be good news for mobile and VoIP phone carriers who are working on gaining market share. "Our carrier clients regard this segment as an important early indicator of market share shifts," Pang said. "[Movers] represent an opportunity for providers to land long-term customers who probably won't make a switch until the next move."

Americans aren't the only ones moving to alternate phone services. A recent study by the European Commission said that the overall number of mobile-only households increased by four percent between winter of 2006 and April 2007 to 22 percent. The number of households with landlines in Europe decreased five percentage points to 72 percent in that time period as well, and 17 percent of households with Internet access reported using it for VoIP calls. The EC report states that the main reason for customers to stay with their current service is because they're satisfied with the service and have no compelling reason to consider switching. But if Telephia's data tells us anything (and translates well across the pond), then perhaps Europeans getting ready to move might have a good reason to consider alternate options after all.