South Dakota: among 8 states in which that figure is less than 17 percent
North Dakota spokesman on theory why the difference:
- College students make up greater percentage of adults in North Dakota
- North Dakota is flatter
- Data is wrong
- It's possible there are a greater percentage of college students in North Dakota but I doubt it could make that big a difference. South Dakota has several colleges similar to North Dakota's
- North Dakota flatter than South Dakota? LOL -- except for the relatively small area of the Black Hills the two states could not be more alike
- Data could be wrong -- won't even go there
Am I missing something? Probably.
Yes, I think what you are missing is that there is no reason for anyone to have a wire into their house/office or whatever for voice com. Increasingly that is also the case for data services.
ReplyDeleteYes, that is true, but why the disparity between North Dakota and South Dakota.
ReplyDeleteNorth Dakota is at the top of the list: among 10 states in which 30 percent of adults have wireless only (no landlines); while South Dakota is at the bottom of the list in which less than 17 percent of adults have wireless exclusively.
Certainly one reason CANNOT be that North Dakota is flatter (topologically) than South Dakota.
What amazed me about the article was that the "expert" in North Dakota seemed not to be aware of the oil industry. There is "no" oil activity in South Dakota and it is huge in North Dakota.
The "expert" is Tony Clark, chairman of North Dakota's Public Service Commission which regulates utilities. He's been a state legislator from Fargo, served just during the recent election as chairman of North Dakota's Republican Party, and just became president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
ReplyDeleteNorth Dakota has 10,000 more college students than South Dakota. This is similar to the number of oil industry workers in North Dakota.
Hess342
Thank you (for number regarding college students). I was just surprised that there was no mention of the number of oil workers in the state: the roughnecks on 175 (now 176 rigs); all the truck drivers; all the frack teams; all the oil service company employees.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of this note is just rambling and not meant to beat a dead horse. I just haven't taken my medication today. Smile.
Somehow when one can mention North Dakota being flatter (topologically) than South Dakota as a possible reason, it's hard to imagine that one would not also think of the oil industry. But it's been my impression that many (most?) folks outside of about nine counties in western North Dakota are completely unaware of what is going on in that part of the state.
My hunch is that there are many more farmers in North Dakota also, and every farmer must have a cell phone these days. Nope, I was wrong (again): there are 30,000 operating farms in North Dakota and 31,000 operating farms in South Dakota.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0883513.html
I just did the math using 646,000 population of North Dakota and 812,000 in South Dakota, and accounting for 10,000 additional college students in North Dakota, and it still couldn't come close to explaining the difference between >30% and <17% using cell phones, though it certainly is part of the answer.
But then again, maybe it is due to North Dakota being flatter.
The latest college enrollment data I could find was from the 2011 Statistical Abstract provided by US Census Bureau:
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/education/higher_education_institutions_and_enrollment.html
It showed 50,000 enrolled college students in both South Dakota and North Dakota (obviously, the number must have been rounded to be equal for both states); it showed 37,000 full-time college students in North Dakota and 32,000 full-time college students in South Dakota.