U.S. Wireless Data Use Passes 100 Trillion MB in 2023

According to an annual survey by wireless industry association CTIA, wireless networks hosted 100.1 trillion megabytes in 2023, marking the biggest year-over-year increase ever and an 89% increase since 2021.

CTIA’s 2024 Annual Wireless Industry Survey has surveyed wireless providers since 1985. The survey tracks a number of metrics surrounding 5G and FWA adoption, wireless data usage and trends, and other factors.

Highlights from the report

Data demand

Even though phone call time and text messages sent were down slightly and stagnant, respectively, data demand hit record-breaking growth in 2023, with a 36% increase YoY (in the second half of 2023, nearly half of consumer mobile data was used for video streaming, according to Verizon's Consumer Connection Report).

5G adoption

Though 5G is growing, less than half of wireless connections (40%) were 5G connections. Nevertheless, this is still a 34% increase over the previous year.

FWA

5G home broadband accounted for 95% of net new broadband subscribers, according the report. Also, 20% of net 5G home subscriber adds were new home broadband subscribers.

Cost of wireless

Wireless data cost per MB decreased 50% since 2020. At $.002 per MB today, wireless data prices have decreased 97% compared to a decade ago, according to the report.

To read more about the CTIA report, you can visit their website.