Wireless Snapshot 2017
MORE DEVICES, MORE SMARTPHONES, AND MORE APPLICATIONS
CONTRIBUTE TO OUR MOBILE-FIRST LIVES.
Since 1985, CTIA has tracked the evolution of the U.S. wireless industry with our Wireless Industry Indices Report.
By every metric, wireless is now central to our lives. Last year was no exception, driven by Americans’ ever-rising
demand for mobile services. Wireless subscribers sent an additional four trillion megabytes over our networks over
2015 levels—and since 2010, data traffic has increased by a factor of 35.

Wireless Data Continues Explosive Growth.
In 2016, wireless data traffic reached yet another record high. In all, traffic totaled 13.72 trillion MBs—the equivalent
of 1.58 million years of streaming HD video1—an increase of 4.07 trillion megabytes over 2015. Over the past two
years, data use has increased 238 percent.

REPORTED WIRELESS DATA TRAFFIC
13.7T MB

2016 mobile data use is

35 times

the volume of traffic in
2010.

 Driving the Remarkable Increase in Wireless Data Traffic.
Almost every person in America has a mobile phone. The vast majority have a smartphone. Nearly the entire country
has been blanketed with high-speed mobile broadband coverage. Speeds are increasing. And consumers view
wireless as indispensable to their lives.
MOBILE DEVICE OWNERSHIP CONTINUES TO RISE. Mobile device use continues to increase across all
demographics. Roughly 396 million mobile devices are in use today,2 up 4.7 percent in 2016, continuing a
remarkable decades-long growth curve. There are now more wireless devices than Americans, with about 1.2 devices
for every person in the country. That makes the wireless platform nearly ubiquitous: 95 percent of U.S. adults own a
cellphone.3 Compare that to the 78 percent of Americans who own a computer4 and the fact there are enough cars
and motorcycles on the road for only 77 percent of Americans.5

ESTIMATED SUBSCRIBER CONNECTIONS

396M

Mobile device
penetration is up
233M

4.7 percent
in 2016, continuing a
remarkable decades long
growth curve.

44M
681K

SMARTPHONES ARE NOW PERVASIVE. There are 261.9 million smartphones in use today, representing nearly
80 percent of the U.S. population. With smartphones generating 102 times more data than a current basic mobile
device,6 the continued rise in smartphone ownership is a driving force behind the significant increase in data
traffic across wireless networks. On average last year, a smartphone generated 3.87 GB of data every month. This
represents an over 1,400 percent increase since 2010, due to the rise of faster networks, more sophisticated phones,
and new applications and services.
Millennials lead smartphone adoption, with 92 percent of 18-29 year olds having a smartphone, followed by 88
percent of 30-49 year olds, and 74 percent of 50-64 year olds.7 With respect to race, smartphone ownership cuts
across the board, with approximately 72 percent of African-Americans, 75 percent of Hispanics, and 77 percent of
whites in the U.S. having smartphones.8
Across income levels, a significant majority of Americans now have
smartphones, with 64 percent of people making less than $30,000
a year and 93 percent of people earning more than $75,000 a year
owning smartphones.9 And since 2011, the number of individuals
making under $30,000 per year who own a smartphone has grown by
42 percent.10

14.7% increase

in smartphones yearover-year.

 WIRELESS INCREASINGLY THE ON-RAMP TO THE INTERNET. For some, mobile devices are their sole means of
accessing the Internet. Twelve percent of Americans rely on their smartphone as their primary access to the Internet
at home—and these individuals are more likely to be younger, non-white, and lower-income.11 More people are
cutting the cord and going wireless-only when it comes to phone service, making their mobile device their only
telephone connection.

GROWTH IN WIRELESS-ONLY HOUSEHOLDS12

Today, just over half—50.8 percent—of American households only have a mobile voice connection.13 For Millennials,
the number increases to over two-thirds who live in mobile-only households.14 These data points showcase a dynamic
and growing wireless industry.
MORE CELL SITES EXPAND COVERAGE AND SPEEDS. At the end of 2016, a record 308,334 cell sites were
in operation, representing growth of over 57 percent in the last ten years. This number is poised to increase
dramatically as the wireless industry densifies today’s networks and prepares for 5G, the next-generation of wireless,
with hundreds of thousands of small cells in the next three to four years.
Thanks in part to the buildout of wireless industry infrastructure, more than 98 percent of the U.S. population is
covered by three or more providers of mobile wireless service and more than 95 percent of the population is covered
by three or more LTE-based service providers.15 Consumers win with this level of competition.

CELL SITES IN SERVICE
308,334

195,613

57% growth

in cell sites over the last
10 years.

30,045
1,531

 Over the life of the wireless industry,
wireless carriers have made nearly

$489 billion in capital investments.

MOBILE SPEEDS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AND DRIVE DATA USE. Today’s 4G LTE mobile data speeds
increased nearly 40 times since 3G speeds in 2007,16 and download speeds for all mobile phones have grown by
almost 40 percent since 2015.17 Today, Americans benefit from average 4G LTE speeds of nearly 17 Mbps.18 Faster
speeds allow for quicker downloads, better connections, and more advanced apps, which in turn fuel increased
consumption and innovation.
SATISFIED WITH THEIR WIRELESS SERVICE, CONSUMERS SEE WIRELESS AS INDISPENSABLE. With all this
mobile use, the vast majority of Americans—four out every five—consider wireless service indispensable.19 In fact,
the average U.S. consumer checks their phone nearly 50 times throughout the day.20
TIME WITH MOBILE DEVICES ALSO INCREASING DRAMATICALLY. Today, Americans spend 2 hours and 32
minutes a day on average, using apps or accessing the web on their smartphones—a figure that has doubled in
the past year alone.21 In addition, 71% of the time people spend online is from a mobile device,22 mobile minutes
exceeded 1 billion for the first month ever in March 2016,23 and consumers spent twice as many minutes on mobile
as desktop for the first month ever in April 2016.24
CONTINUED IMPORTANCE OF TEXT AND VOICE. In 2016, wireless consumers spent 2.751 trillion minutes of use
(MOU) talking on their mobile devices through traditional voice services.
In addition to voice capabilities, text messaging remains a critically important wireless feature. With SMS’s very high
engagement rate—90 percent of consumers say they read a message within minutes of receipt25—and its high daily
use rate—71 percent of consumers use SMS at least once a day26—it is no surprise that consumers sent a remarkable
1.939 trillion messages (combined SMS and MMS) in 2016.
These numbers matter because they illustrate the centrality of wireless connectivity to our lives.

2:32

AVERAGE TIME SPENT
PER ADULT 18+ PER DAY
ACCESSING APPS/ WEB
ON A SMARTPHONE/
TABLET

1:38
1:23

 Wireless Impact: Investing in America and Growing our Economy.
WIRELESS INVESTMENT MEANS GLOBAL LEADERSHIP. America’s wireless leadership is possible only because of
the significant capital investments that wireless carriers make in their networks. Wireless capital expenditures totaled
$26.4 billion in 2016, and over $200 billion in the past seven years alone.
SPECTRUM IS A KEY WIRELESS INVESTMENT. In addition to capital expenditures, the wireless industry has also
spent billions of dollars on spectrum licenses. Since 1994, FCC spectrum auctions – including the recent 600MHz
auction – raised over $100 billion in revenue for the government.26

INVESTING IN
AMERICA

$475B

$101B

Reported Wireless Capex
Since 1994

Spectrum Auction
Revenue for the Federal
Government Since 1994

WIRELESS CREATES JOBS. In 2016, wireless carriers directly employed 216,537 people across the country. Wireless
employees also have higher wages—46 percent higher, in fact—than average.27
In addition, wireless directly supports more than 4.6 million jobs across ecosystem sectors—device and accessories
manufacturers, wireless operators, retailers, network suppliers, app and content stores, mobile advertising networks,
advertising, and others.28

MOBILE INDUSTRY
COMPARED TO
OTHER INDUSTRIES
In 2014, the Wireless Industry
had a GDP of $282B, almost
$100B more than Agriculture,
and Arts and Entertainment in
the same year.

 Licensed wireless
services generate more
than $400 BILLION
annually in economic
activity.
WIRELESS DRIVES ECONOMIC GROWTH. Licensed wireless service generates more than $400 billion annually29 in
direct and indirect economic activity. This spend in the wireless ecosystem is a result of the use of licensed spectrum
and doesn’t even account for the economic benefits produced by other industry sectors that rely on the mobile
broadband platform.
THE NEXT GENERATION OF WIRELESS: 5G, SMART CITIES, AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS. 5G, the nextgeneration of wireless, will unlock new cycles of innovation and investment across the mobile ecosystem. Analysts
predict 5G networks will be up to 100 times faster than 4G networks, connect 100 times the number of devices, and
respond 5 times as quickly. Driving this wireless revolution is a projected $275 billion dollars in investment that will
create up to 3 million new 5G jobs and add approximately $500 billion to the U.S. economy.30
Wireless-powered smart city solutions could produce $160 billion in benefits and savings from lower energy use,
reduced traffic congestion, and decreased fuel costs.31 Connected devices could create $305 billion in annual savings
for the healthcare industry,32 and self-driving cars could save 21,700 lives and $447 billion per year.33 The number
of IoT devices worldwide will conservatively surpass 20 billion by the year 2020,34 and this increase in connectivity
stands to add roughly $2.7 trillion to U.S. GDP by 2030.35
The proliferation of mobile use has transformed our lives, and we’re only scratching the surface. Mobile and
connected life innovation is exploding as new consumers and commercial applications are brought to market. The
future is here and we look forward to seeing where it takes America next.

 ENDNOTES 
1. Based on estimates from the U.S. Cellular Monthly Data Usage Estimate tool, available at https://www.uscellular.com/data/
data-estimator.html.
2. This number is derived from the number of active devices, including smartphones, feature phones, tablets, etc. on carrier
networks. Since users may have more than one wireless device, it is not equal to the number of individual subscribers.
3. Pew Research Center, “Mobile Fact Sheet” (Jan. 12, 2017), available at http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/.
4. Id.
5. Based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics for “Number of U.S. Aircraft, Vehicles, Vessels, and Other Conveyances”
(2014), available at https://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/
table_01_11.html.
6. Cisco, “VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2016-2012” (Feb. 2017), available at http://www.cisco.com/assets/sol/sp/vni/
forecast_highlights_mobile/#~Country (United States – Device Growth Traffic Profiles, Smartphones).
7. Pew Research Center, “Mobile Fact Sheet” (Jan. 12, 2017), available at http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/
8. Id.
9. Id.
10. Pew Research Center, “Mobile Fact Sheet” (Jan. 12, 2017), available at http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/ and
Pew Research Center, “Smartphone Adoption and Usage” (Jul. 11, 2011), available at http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/07/11/
smartphone-adoption-and-usage/.”
11. Id.
12. Stephen J. Blumberg, Ph.D and Julian V. Luke, Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health
Interview Survey, June 2016 - December 2016 (May 2017), available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/
earlyrelease/wireless201705.pdf.
13. Id.
14. FCC, Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions with Respect to Mobile Wireless, Nineteenth Report,
DA 16-1061 (Sep. 23, 2016), FCC and Mosaik data https://www.fcc.gov/document/19th-mobile-wireless-competition-report
15. Compare FCC, 13th CMRS Competition Report (2007), https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-54A1.pdf
(“During 2006 and 2007, wireless providers have continued to deploy mobile broadband networks, such as CDMA EV-DO
and WCDMA/HSDPA, which allow typical downstream data transfer speeds of 400-800 kbps.”) with PCMag,” Fastest Mobile
Networks 2016” (June 2016), http://www.pcmag.com/article/345123/fastest-mobile-networks-2016/2 (recording the average
speed of 4G in 2016 to range from 19.01 Mbps to 26.98 Mbps).
16. Compare Cisco VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2015-2020, United States available at http://www.cisco.com/c/m/en_us/
solutions/service-provider/vni-forecast-highlights.html# with Cisco VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2016-2021, United States –
Accelerating Network Speeds available at http://www.cisco.com/assets/sol/sp/vni/forecast_highlights_mobile/#~Country
17. Cisco, Cisco VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2016-2021, United States – Accelerating Network Speeds available at http://
www.cisco.com/assets/sol/sp/vni/forecast_highlights_mobile/#~Country
18. Morning Consult Survey (December 2016).
19. Deloitte, “2016 Global Mobile Consumer Survey: US Edition”, (2016) available at https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/
technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/global-mobile-consumer-survey-us-edition.html
20. Nielsen, The Nielsen Total Audience Report Q4 2016 (April 3, 2017), available at http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/
reports/2017/the-nielsen-total-audience-report-q4-2016.html.
21. comScore, Mobile’s Hierarchy of Needs (April 5. 2017), available at https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-andWhitepapers/2017/Mobiles-Hierarchy-of-Needs.
22. Id.

 23. Id.
24 Genia Stevens, Business.com, “Text Savvy: 6 Reasons Brands Should Start Using SMS Marketing” (Feb. 22, 2017), available
at https://www.business.com/articles/6-reasons-brands-should-start-using-sms-marketing/.
25 2016 Morning Consult survey
26 FCC, Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Estimates to Congress (February 9, 2016), available at https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/
attachmatch/DOC-337668A2.pdf; FCC Auction 1000, Incentive Auction, https://auctiondata.fcc.gov/public/projects/1000.
27. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, available at http://www.bls.gov/cew/apps/
data_views/data_views.htm#tab=Tables.
28. Roger Entner, The Wireless Industry: Revisiting Spectrum, The Essential Engine of US Economic Growth (April 2016)
available at http://www.ctia.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/entner-revisiting-spectrum-final.pdf.
29. Coleman Bazelon & Giulia McHenry, The Brattle Group, Mobile Broadband Spectrum: A Vital Resource for the American
Economy (May 11, 2015), available at http://www.brattle.com/news-and-knowledge/news/brattle-prepares-report-oneconomic-activity-generated-by-spectrum-licensed-to-u-s-wireless-carriers.
30. Accenture, Smart Cities: How 5G Can Help Municipalities Become Vibrant Smart Cities (January 2017) available at https://
www.accenture.com/us-en/insight-smart-cities.
31. Id.
32. David H. Roman and Kyle D. Conlee, The Digital Revolution Comes to US Healthcare: Technology, Incentives Align to
Shake Up the Status Quo, Goldman Sachs Equity Report, Internet of Things Volume 5 (June 29, 2015) available at http://
massdigitalhealth.org/digital-revolution-comes-us-healthcare.
33. Daniel J. Fagnant and Kara Kockelman, “Preparing a Nation for Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities, Barriers and Policy
Recommendations for Capitalizing on Self-Driven Vehicles,” Eno Center for Transportation (2013), available at https://www.
enotrans.org/etl-material/preparing-a-nation-for-autonomous-vehicles-opportunities-barriers-and-policy-recommendations/.
34. Gartner Inc., Gartner Says 8.4 Billion Connected “Things” Will Be in Use in 2017, Up 31 Percent From 2016 (Feb. 7, 2017)
available at http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3598917.
35. Dr. Michael Mandel, Progressive Policy Institute, Long Term U.S. Productivity Growth and Mobile Broadband: The Road
Ahead (March 2016) available at http://www.progressivepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2016.03-Mandel_Longterm-US-Productivity-Growth-and-Mobile-Broadband_The-Road-Ahead.pdf