Americans used 100.1 trillion megabytes of wireless data in 2023, according to a just-released study from CTIA, an organization that represents the wireless communications industry.
CTIA’s 2024 Annual Wireless Industry Survey found 2023 to be the biggest single-year increase in wireless data usage ever — 36% more than in 2022 — with almost double the volume of data used in 2021. Americans used more wireless data in 2023 than they did during the entire period from 2010 to 2018, said CTIA, which has been surveying U.S. wireless providers since 1985.
This explosive demand for wireless is supported by several elements measured through the survey. In addition to wireless data demand, the study quantified connections, investment, consumer prices, 5G home broadband, and infrastructure.
5G, though not yet ubiquitous, is increasingly becoming part of daily life and work for many Americans. The study found that in 2023, 39% of all wireless devices had a 5G connection, up from 31% in 2022 and from just 3% in 2020. The total number of wireless connections in the U.S. has reached 558 million, which is more than 1.6 wireless connections per person, the study observed.
Since 2020, the wireless industry has had the distinction of being the second-largest investor in the U.S. economy, CTIA said in the report. Last year $30 billion was put into the wireless industry to build, upgrade, and maintain networks. Wireless carriers have invested a total of $705 billion to date. The industry also has invested $233 billion at auction for licensed spectrum.
The cost of wireless is decreasing at the same time data usage is increasing, the study found. The average current cost per megabyte of wireless data in the U.S. is $0.002, which is 50% less since 2020 and 97% less than 10 years ago.
“In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that prices for consumer goods and services such as cable, electricity, and food and beverages have all jumped up to 10% since 2020, while the cost of wireless service has decreased 1% and smartphone prices have dropped 16%,” the study said.
5G Home Broadband also is making strides. During the past two years, 95% of net new broadband subscribers chose 5G home service and approximately 20% of net 5G home adds were new home broadband subscribers. CTIA said this underscores 5G’s role in helping to close the digital divide.
Another key measurement of the skyrocketing wireless data demand, according to the study, is more cell sites. As of year-end 2023 the U.S. counted 432,469 operational cell sites, compared with 349,344 in 2018. This equates to a 24% increase — 83,125 active cell sites added since the FCC and state legislators passed key wireless siting reforms in 2018.
While discussing the wireless industry’s outstanding performance, CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker noted that the advancements are increasingly at risk. “To continue to meet the insatiable demand for wireless, drive innovation, and support America’s economic competitiveness, the wireless industry needs access to more full-power, licensed spectrum — especially in the mid-band, the key range for 5G networks and where America lags other leading countries,” Baker said.
