According to Reuters, Americans used more wireless data than ever before last year, with more than 100 trillion megabytes used through 2023. This record figure represents a 36% increase over 2022, or 26 trillion megabytes, according to industry research. The number of wireless connections is also set to grow to 558 million in 2023, a 6% increase over 2022.
Interestingly, these increases were driven more by new advances than traditional means: Americans spent roughly 100 billion fewer minutes talking on the phone than they did last year, while texting remained about the same. Instead, technologies like drones, space missions, self-driving cars, and precision agriculture appear to have driven the change.
However, there remains uncertainty in the U.S. about how to find new spectrum for wireless communications. According to Meredith Atwell Baker, CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), “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.” In November 2023, the White House developed a National Spectrum Strategy to improve spectrum access and management.
