While smart-phone purchases may continue to grow during the recession, expensive cell-phone plans will see some significant losses. According to a survey by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) for the New Millennium Research Council (NMRC), two out of five Americans with contract-based cell phones are likely to cut back on their cell phones to save money if the economy gets worse over the next six months. That’s 60.3 million consumers.

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Perhaps more importantly, 35 million Americans—19% of consumers with a cell phone—already have discontinued cell-phone service in the last six months due to the economy. This includes 29% of consumers age 18 to 34 and 28% of those living in households earning $35,000 a year or less.

The survey also says that 40 million Americans—26% of consumers with contract-based cell-phone service—are more inclined today than six months ago to look at a way to save money on their cell-phone bills, such as switching to a pre-paid cell-phone service. This group includes 38% of those in households making $35,000 a year or less, 32% of African Americans, and 30% of consumers age 18 to 34.

Cell-phone extras like Internet connectivity, e-mail, and texting also will see declines during the recession. A total of 19 million Americans—one in five cell-phone users with cell-phone extras—have considered cutting back (5%) or have cut back (15%) on such features in the last six months because of actual job loss, fear of job loss, the recession, or other related financial concerns.

Furthermore, more than two out of five cell-phone users with extras on their phones (41%) say it is very (19%) or somewhat (21%) likely that they will cut back on cell-phone extras if the economy gets worse in the next six months. This includes 44% of those age 18 to 34, 54% of those in households making $35,000 a year or less, and 55% of African Americans. Fewer than two in five (39%) say it’s not likely at all that they will make such cuts.

Fewer than half of cell-phone users (48%) say the extras on their phone like Internet connectivity, e-mail, and texting deliver a great deal (29%) or some value (19%). About one in five consumers see little value in such services. About a third of cell-phone users (34%) lack these extras.

The shift to pre-paid services is underway. Nearly one in five Americans who now have pre-paid service (17%) say they switched in the last six months from a contract-based cell-phone service due to the economy. This includes 23% of consumers age 18 to 24 and 29% of African Americans with pre-paid phones. Two-thirds of pre-paid customers say they are saving money compared to a landline phone or contract-based services.

Four out of five Americans own a cell phone, ranging from 84% of those age 18 to 34 to 68% of those 65 or older. While 91% of consumers in households earning $100,000 or more have cell phones, less than two-thirds in households earning $35,000 or less (65%) have cell phones. Nearly one in five Americans (17%) reports having a pre-paid cell phone, compared to 84% with a contract-based cell phone.

The telephone survey involved 2005 adults (1002 men and 1033 women) age 18 and older living in private households in the continental United States. Completed between March 5 and March 9, 2009, the survey weighted four variables: age, sex, geographic region, and race to ensure a reliable and accurate representation of the entire population. For the full survey findings, go to www.thenmrc.org.