Dan Kehn's new apartment has all the essentials, save one.

When the 22-year old college graduate moved in, he decided not to sign up for landline telephone service, becoming one of a growing number of people to cut the cord and rely entirely on the cell phone.

"Before, in college, having a phone was an expense I never had to deal with," says Kehn, now an events manager who works in Covington, Ky. "But when I figured it out, I thought: Why pay $30 to $40 a month for something I don't need or use anymore?"

Nearly 10 percent of all Americans have dropped their landlines in favor of cell phones, according to one survey. The trend has whipped up a wireless phone industry looking to capture every potential user — as well as providers of home phones looking to retain customers. And that could be good news for consumers by driving down phone service costs.

"You absolutely will see further price erosion," says Linda Barrabee, a wireless expert with the Boston-based marketing and research firm Yankee Group. "From the landline perspective, they will be looking to shore up their resources."

Meanwhile, she says, "the wireless companies will be looking to get into the home even more."

Landline phone companies say that young people are driving the trend toward cell phones.

"It's a very natural thing, once you think about the fact that most teenagers and college students nowadays have a cell phone and number of their own," Sprint Nextel spokeswoman Susan Kristof says. "At some point, all those younger people are going to get places of their own, and they all have been accustomed to just using a cell phone."

For many users, especially younger customers, the added functionality of cell phones — which now can receive e-mail, send text messages, take photos and even play games — keep wireless the preferred choice for communicating, say experts. And to those such as Kehn, a landline is just an added $30 to $40 a month that seems superfluous.

"It's just so much more convenient," says Kehn, who loves the added features such as custom ring tones for cells.

Some experts say the trend is going to become a movement.

In April, Rochester, N.Y.-based Harris Interactive conducted an online survey of 1,088 adults that found 9 percent of Americans were using only a cell phone. The survey had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

More important, says the study's author: 5 percent said they were seriously considering switching and plan to make the move in the next year, and another 47 percent said they were "somewhat" considering it.

"That gives this trend definite legs," says Joe Porus, chief architect for Harris' technology practice. "In the future, all bets are off."

What that means to regional phone companies and their customers isn't clear. Some experts predict there will be a natural limit to the number of "cell-phone only" phone users.

One of the reasons is that while cell phone technology is improving, many feel that it is still not as reliable as a landline. In the Harris survey, 7 percent of those who said they wouldn't switch to a cell phone said it's because the signal at home is weak or unreliable.

And even with recent price drops, cellular service still costs more than a landline, especially if it is just for local calling.

"The thing people like is that the (landline) phone works all the time, even when the power is out," says Julie Ask, a research director who specializes in the wireless industry for New York-based JupiterResearch. "While wireless prices have come down, they are still more expensive than home phone service, and the home phone is still seen as more reliable."

Expense was what led Theresa Tener of Mason, Ohio, to re-up for a landline with Sprint just a month after going wireless in April. "Government offices put you on hold a lot, and I really ate into my minutes that one month," says Tener, a school bus driver. "I just couldn't afford it once I went over my plan on daytime minutes."

She signed up for the most basic service possible, however, relying on her cell phone for long distance. "I hated to cancel it in the first place, but did so because of cost," she says. "Now I realize that they aren't duplicate services."

Porus says consumers will still want a landline. His survey found 39 percent of respondents said they would never switch, with 26 percent of that subset citing safety as the primary reason for keeping a home phone. Twenty percent of the subset of respondents said they needed a phoneline for Internet access.