CTIA’s annual survey of carriers exhibits continued progress and growth of 5G mobile companies and information
How a lot do American shoppers use their cell telephones? Wi-fi community operator commerce affiliation CTIA provides up to date numbers in its lately launched annual survey, and the numbers are unprecedented.
Individuals used 132 trillion megabytes of mobile information final yr, which blew away final yr’s file of 100 trillion megabytes — and in accordance with CTIA, was the one largest soar in information consumption in U.S. historical past. For 3 years straight, demand for cellular information has elevated by about 35% per yr.
Different key numbers from CTIA’s annual survey included:
-U.S. wi-fi connections grew to 579 million, or 1.7 connections for each individual.
-5G units make up greater than 259 million of these connections, or almost half, in comparison with 39% final yr.
-Individuals exchanged virtually 2.2 trillion textual content and multimedia messages throughout 2024, essentially the most because the first yr of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
-Voice calls accounted for greater than 2.4 trillion minutes of discuss time.
-Ninety-nine p.c of recent dwelling broadband subscribers are utilizing mobile 5G-based information companies, with 5G dwelling subscribers growing almost 3.7 million to achieve virtually 12 million subscribers nationwide. “Total, our market penetration has expanded quickly, rising to almost 12M subscribers by the top of final yr, and projected to extend 1.7x by 2028,” CTIA mentioned of Mounted Wi-fi Entry. “The one factor holding again this widespread product is extra full-power licensed spectrum.”
The group went on to say: “This file progress highlights why Congress’s route to public sale 800 megahertz of recent spectrum is so important.”
CTIA has been pushing exhausting for various years for extra spectrum to be auctioned for exclusive-license, full-power use, and it lastly achieved that purpose with the passing of President Trump’s “One Large Stunning Invoice” Act that ordered 500 megahertz of federally-held spectrum to be recognized and auctioned for business use, plus 300 megahertz of non-commercial spectrum. That invoice did determine a number of bands for examine, however largely left it an open query as to which federal and non-federal bands will likely be repurposed — which has left backers of Wi-Fi and CBRS nervous.
“From our perspective a minimum of, all choices which are permitted by regulation are on the desk,” mentioned Ajit Pai, CTIA president and CEO and former FCC chairman, throughout a latest dialog with media members at CTIA headquarters in Washington, D.C. when he was requested about particular spectrum bands for mobile use.
The Federal Communications Fee is already shifting forward on making ready for an public sale of the Higher C-Band spectrum. Auctioning the primary C-Band spectrum for mobile use resulted in fears and warnings of radio altimeter interference in legacy altimeters in plane as deployments grew to become imminent, and a rush to determine dangers and safety areas, and upgrades of altimeters. Will that occur once more when extra C-Band is added to the combo?
When it comes to the higher C-Band, Pai mentioned: “There’s a productive dialog happening now, between wi-fi carriers, aviation and authorities, and we’re hopeful that this can end in a really favorable decision of any lingering considerations that there is likely to be.” He added: “I feel each by way of course of and substance, this isn’t the primary rodeo for any of the stakeholders, and I feel that provides all people a bonus within the sense that we perceive now, greater than we did in 2019 and 2020.”
Whereas some operators have advised Wall Avenue that they’re glad with their present spectrum place, Pai pointed to the business’s ongoing investments — $29 billion final yr, leading to amongst different issues, greater than 15,000 new cell towers being activated in 2024 — and the expansion in mobile information demand as the explanation why further spectrum will proceed to be wanted, and the planning needs to be happening nicely prematurely.
“When you take a look at what carriers have carried out lately, the proof is within the pudding by way of the cash they’ve spent at public sale, the cash that’s being spent in secondary market transactions, and the cash that … is being invested in upgrading and sustaining wi-fi networks. This is among the most capital-intensive industries in your complete economic system, and I feel the reason being that individuals perceive American shoppers actually like having wi-fi companies at their disposal,” Pai mentioned.
“One fixed within the shopper expertise is that they’re all the time utilizing extra. So the time to consider spectrum coverage just isn’t whenever you’re behind the eight-ball and the state of affairs is so dire that companies can’t be delivered or that there’s large lag within the community. The time to consider it’s prematurely,” he mentioned. “In order that’s actually how we strategy it, is that you simply all the time wish to take into consideration the place the wi-fi shopper goes to be in 5 years, in 10 years, in 20 years, and make the mandatory changes in coverage now so that you simply by no means confront that state of affairs the place demand is considerably outstripping provide.”
Learn CTIA’s full annual survey right here.
