Millions expected to cut back cell phone costs in recession

Opinion Research, which conducts polls for CNN and other organizations, also found that many users have already cut back. "The change in thinking and purchases is clearly already taking place and has been for months," said Graham Hueber, senior researcher for Opinion Research, in a call with reporters.

Thirty-nine percent of those customers with monthly contracts said they are likely to cut back. That percentage represents more than 60 million consumers who are expected to cut back on monthly service or extras such as texting, according to the Opinion Research Corp., a polling company that performed the survey for NMRC. The margin of error in the survey is plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Allen Hepner, a scholar at the NMRC, said the survey also shows that consumers will move from monthly cell phone plans to prepaid plans as a result of the downturn. He described four prepaid plans that were far less costly than monthly plans, putting them more in the reach of lower-income Americans. "Consumers are looking for savings," he said

Hepner would not say whether the NMRC receives funding from prepaid carriers, saying that the group's donors are kept anonymous. He did say that some of the donors are telecommunications companies. Many carriers offer both prepaid and monthly subscription plans.