How much are US mobile operators investing in infrastructure in 2021?

The survey also found that since 2018, when US mobile operators began building and deploying 5G mobile networks, they have invested a total of more than $121 billion in developing, improving and operating mobile networks.

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This record investment has already yielded unprecedented results: 5G networks now cover more than 95% of the US population, equivalent to more than 315 million Americans having access to 5G technology; 1/3 of US adults already own at least one 5G device, and 5G technology is now the fastest growing segment of the household broadband market.

In addition, competition in the mobile industry has also helped Americans benefit from the low rates offered by carriers. While other prices are rising, the cost of mobile service in the US is falling, with the price of mobile service falling 43% in 10 years, while network speeds have increased more than 85 times. The survey results once again show that mobile data usage continues to increase, especially with the trend of using data on 5G networks.

“Mobile is America’s most competitive industry, and that competition continues to drive record levels of investment to build world-leading 5G networks,” said Meredith Attwell Baker, CTIA President and CEO. “Competition in the mobile industry is also continuing to benefit consumers, driving down mobile rates and creating real competition for cable services.”

According to the report, in 2021, mobile data traffic in the US grew by a whopping 53.4 trillion Megabytes. In 2020, mobile users across the US used 42.2 trillion Megabytes. The CTIA notes that the 11.2 trillion Megabyte increase in 2021 is more than the 1.5 trillion Megabytes that US users used in all of 2015.

The CTIA report added that nationwide 5G deployment has been twice as fast as 4G. Significant investment in 5G and rapid deployment have led to an explosion in the adoption of 5G and 5G-enabled devices year after year. Today, 5G has touched every aspect of American life. Consumers have embraced the technology, resulting in a 513% increase in 5G-connected smartphones and other 5G devices in 2021 to 85 million devices compared to 2020.

Along with the increase in mobile data traffic, US users also made trillions of text messages and voice calls in 2021. Accordingly, in 2021, US users made 2 trillion text messages, that is, more than 63,644 text messages per second, and 2.4 trillion minutes of voice calls.

References

[1].https://www.rcrwireless.com/20220914/carriers/us-mobile-carriers-invest-35-billion-2021-ctia

[2]. https://www.ctia.org/news/us-wireless-investment-hits-record-high