MANY, WITH HECTIC LIFESTYLES, CONSIDER CELL PHONES A NECESSITY, NOT LUXURY

It's rare to go anywhere these days without seeing people talking on their cell phones.

You see people talking on wireless phones in their cars, at the mall and in grocery stores. They use them to discuss dinner plans when they are at the gym, close business deals in restaurants and check voice mail while sitting in lobbies waiting on appointments.

And it's that convenience and portability, along with their increasing affordability, that have made cellular phones so popular, say those who sell cellular service.

"People love the portability of cell phones," said Renee Tlapek, regional market manager for Southwestern Bell Wireless for Southeast Missouri. "You can take them wherever you go so you don't have to sit at home waiting for calls. You can go where you want without missing out on anything."

For those in business, the portability of cell phones allows them to be productive without being chained to a desk, said Chris Pickel, regional market manager for Southwestern Bell Wireless.

Cellular phones offer people a convenient way to keep in touch, said Don Hinkebein, operations manager at JCS/Tel-Link, an authorized dealer for Ameritech Cellular.

"If you are driving down the road and need to notify others of a change in plans, you can reschedule from your car without having to stop, find a pay phone or find change," Hinkebein said.

The popularity of cellular phones have soared in this area since they were introduced in this area in the 1983, he said.

"In 1980 there wasn't cell phone service in this area," Hinkebein said. "Now 20 percent of people 18 and older have a cell phone."

In the United States, according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry of America trade group, there are close to 80 million wireless subscribers.

Part of the reason for the growth in cell phone use has been the decrease in price for cellular service, Hinkebein said.

"When cell phones were introduced, they were a luxury item that cost thousands of dollars," he said.

Now portable cell phones are often free when you subscribe to a wireless service, he said. Also, the cost for minutes of air time has gone from 50 cents a minute in the early 1980s to as low as 8 cents a minute for some packages. And some plans offer free minutes on nights and weekends.

"It's really an economy of scale," Hinkebein said. As more people subscribe, as more antennae sites are built, the price comes down.

He said in 1983 there was one antenna site in Southeast Missouri. Now there are about 75 sites.

As the price of wireless service has come down, the way people use their cell phones has changed.

"The traditional market for cell phones was for business people because they were the only ones who could afford it," Hinkebein said. "Now customers range from executives making multimillion-dollar business transactions to two 13-year-olds discussing going to the mall."

Tlapek said people now use cellular phones for business uses, like being able to schedule meetings or talk to clients while on the road or waiting for appointments and alert associates to schedule changes; for the security they offer, both as a way of calling someone in case of car problems or an accident or to report a crime or suspicious activity; and as a convenient way to keep in touch with spouses and children.

"We're seeing more multiple phones in households," said Pickel. "Not too long ago, the head of the household might have a cell phone. Then both spouses had them, with one phone in each car. Now families see the benefit of having one for each of the kids so there might be three, four, five wireless phones per household."

And new innovations in wireless communications will mean even more uses for cellular phones, Tlapek said. That includes the ability to send faxes and send and receive e-mail, and access the Internet.

"By 2010, it is estimated that 70 percent of all Internet traffic will be done without a plug-in phone site," Hinkebein said.

Pickel said Southwestern Bell Wireless will be introducing digital wireless service to the Cape Girardeau area, perhaps as early as March. This will allow phones to receive caller ID and voice mail.