State Representative Takes "Very Important Call" in Middle of Speech

Texas Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee's recent cell phone gaff, where she was talking on her cell phone during a town hall meeting is a strong indicator of just how far cell phone use has come in America. By 2004, the US Census Bureau reported there were 159 million cell phone subscribers, up from the 34 million subscribers in 1995. As a conventional accessory for business and personal use, it's estimated that 82% of adults now have cell phones. Landline use on the other hand has steeply declined. A recent study by Nielsen Media, noted that 17.1 percent of Americans (around 20 million people), switched from a landline to a cell phone exclusively. With the substantial mobility and privacy of a cell phone, one would expect the number of landlines to decrease substantially over the next decade. Given that there's no cell phone directory delivered to each home, and the growing database of unlisted landline numbers, locating a person 's phone number has become extremely difficult.

Fortunately, websites such as SearchDetective.net have gone through the process of housing some of the largest databases of land and cell phone directories. With most people keeping their cell phone number no matter what state they live in, searching via the conventional method such as the WhitePages could take hours. By enabling a person to search by phone number (including search by cell phone) and additional characteristics such as name and location, these sites have taken the mystery out of finding information on people.

Though the rapid expansion of cell phone use has now made phone etiquette an issue, at least now you can easily find Representative Jackson's cell phone number to complain.