PC Mag reports on new data from the FCC that says some 80% of folks in the US subscribe to a mobile phone service. Nearly 99% of Americans have access to at least one cell phone operator. Most of them – 95% - have a choice of at least three wireless providers and half can choose from among at least five, the survey found.

The number of cell phone subscribers in the States grew to 242 million in 2006 from 213 million in 2005, PC Mag says, citing the report. The average number of voice minutes used per month at the end of 2006 was 714, up six minutes from a year earlier. Texting seemed to grow even more commonplace than ever before, with the number of messages sent per month doubling to 18.7 billion in December 2006, up from 9.8 billion the prior December, the report says.