SAN FRANCISCO—Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul have the highest rates of wireless substitution among the 20 largest U.S. cities, according to research by Telephia.

Detroit led the list of cord-cutting rates, with 19 percent of its 1.47 million households using only wireless for communications. Minneapolis-St.Paul came in second at 15.2 percent, followed closely by Tampa, Fla. with 15.1 percent. Other cities where people have been replacing their landlines with wireless at rates greater than 10 percent include Washington, D.C.; Phoenix; Atlanta; Denver; and Seattle. Meanwhile, San Francisco landed at the bottom of the top 20—possibly because of poor wireless coverage due to the city’s tower zoning and hilly geography, Telephia concluded. S.F.’s wireless substitution rate was at 5.5 percent.

“San Franciscans have traditionally been early adopters of advanced technologies. It is a bit of a surprise to see this metro much lower on the list, but this could be driven by the area’s high income level or its relatively low level of mobile network quality,” said Kanishka Agarwal, Telephia’s vice president of new products.

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