In July, the Cellular Technology Industry Association (CTIA) put out its annual State of Wireless report. While there a many different data points and insights in it, we feel there are 3 key ones that warrant attention above the others.
- 15.7 Trillion MB of data was transmitted in 2017
- 1.2 Devices for every person in the USA
- 68% of Americans are doing more with their mobile service now than 5 years ago
15.7 Trillion MB of data was transmitted in 2017
We feel this is worth including because of the sheer enormity of the figure. Keep in mind this is just the USA. It wasn’t that long ago that mobile carriers were looking at data as a new growth area, now it is the foundation of their businesses.
1.2 Devices for every person in the USA
This is a very interesting stat for 2 reasons: (1) it’s clear that many people own more than one device; and (2) it may suggest that the real trend is towards several devices per person. If that’s the case, how many more devices will there be per person within 5 years? How many people will there be left with no connected devices?
68% of Americans are doing more with their mobile service now than 5 years ago
While this stat may seem obvious, it’s a valuable reminder that adoption of services continues to grow. After all, most standard features were well-available 5 years ago, so it is innovative new services and transformation of existing services to be digital and mobile-enabled that is driving continued growth.
While it could be that we are reaching saturation it could also be that we are just getting started. As discussed, perhaps 1.2 devices per person is low and should be 5 or 6. What is 68% of Americans will be doing more with their mobile service 5 years from now compared to today. If that is the case, then the overall insight is that there is a great deal of market growth left.