CTIA’s 2026 wireless affordability tracker found that prices are bucking the trend and becoming less expensive services as time goes by.
The “More for Less: 2026 Wireless Affordability Tracker,” found that when adjusted for inflation postpaid unlimited plans are 10% less than last year and almost 35% less than five years ago. The proliferation of plans — the tracker says that it found more than a thousand — has driven prepaid options down more than 50% during the past five years.
The tracker says that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (BLS and CPI) found that the nominal prices of wireless service are down by 4.1% during the past year and 19% during the past decade. This compares starkly to the economy-wide CPI, which is up 2.7% last year and more than 37% during the past ten.
Wireless service is a bright spot for consumers compared to other common services. The 4.1% decrease in prices during the year compares to college tuition (up 1.5%), rent (up 2.9%), cable TV (up 3.7%), and gas/utilities (up 10.8%).
“This means wireless is fighting inflation, helping offset rising prices in other industries,” the report says. “With more affordable wireless, consumers are able to spend more elsewhere. The average wireless bill now represents only 1.7 percent of Americans’ spending, according to the Consumer Expenditures Surveys done by BLS.”
The report looked at what Americans spend their money on. Cellular services accounts for 1.73% of spending, compared to housing (33.44%), food (12.85%), entertainment (4.6%), healthcare (7.89%), personal insurance (12.47%) and transportation (16.96%). The report says that 11.36% of spending is on miscellaneous uses.
The report also says that wireless prices trended down 15.2% from 2020 to 2024. This compares to gas (up 20.1%), vehicle financing (up 26.5%), eggs (up 28.1%), and entertainment/tickets (up 71.8%).
Wireless providers clearly are playing the price card. Some recent examples:
Two weeks ago, Midco launched Midco Mobile. It is designed to complement the company’s fiber internet, MidcoTV, landline phone, and wholesale services. The new wireless service offers a pair of plans at low prices: $15 per month for Flex, a by‑the‑gig plan, and $30 for Unlimited, which features unlimited talk, text, and data.
In April, Comcast Xfinity introduced Mobile Plus (priced at $45 per line) and Mobile Select ($30 per line).
Also in April, Optimum — which runs a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on T-Mobile’s network — ran “the UnBig Your Bill” promotion across all its retail stores. The promotion offered one of two things to customers: A better price than AT&T and Verizon or, if the store couldn’t match the prices, a $150 gift card.
