Family Plans Now Dominate Mobile Industry

Family plans now dominate consumer mobile service packages. More than two thirds of consumer contract plans are family plans, up from less than 50 percent at the end of 2005, according to Nielsen Co.

According to a new T-Mobile survey, 73 percent of households with both family plans and children 22 or older still have an adult child on their plans.

At T-Mobile, for instance, an individual plan with 500 minutes and unlimited texting costs $49.99 a month with a two-year contract. A family plan with 1,500 minutes and unlimited texting costs $99.99 a month for two lines, or about the same per person for more minutes. Adding two additional lines costs $10 a month, and cuts the price per person to $27.50.