This likely doesn’t come as a surprise, but according to a 2015 CRTC report, more Canadian households now have mobile phones (84.9%) than landlines (78.9%). The more striking figure in their reporting is that just over 1-in-5 households (20.4%) do not have a landline and are cellphone-only.

These cell-only households have created challenges for the research industry as reaching the general population for surveys or other opinion research is becoming more difficult every year. Stratcom has continually worked to stay ahead of the curve on this front by using new technologies and modifying existing methodologies to ensure that research is representative of the population – not just capturing the opinions of those who have landline phones.

Online polling:

Online surveys using panels (online polling) is a fast and cost-effective way to reach Canadians, with a substantial percentage of online surveys being conducted on smartphones. Dynamic and interactive question designs keep respondents engaged and allow for many different question formats within the same survey.

Random digit dialing (RDD):

RDD lists can include or even target cellphones. Unlike the earlier years of cellphone usage, people aren’t as worried about the remaining minutes on their plan so the response rates are actually quite similar between landlines and cells. IVR polls and live caller CATI polls fielded to RDD lists are key to keeping costs down and response rates up.

Click the link below to read more from the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report 2015