LAS VEGAS -- Mar 23, 2010 CTIA-The Wireless Association® announced today its semi-annual survey results, which include numerous metrics highlighting the industry’s continued positive economic impact and growth in the United States. In particular, wireless data service revenues increased 25.7% from the last half of 2008 to reach more than $22 billion for the last half of 2009. Wireless data revenues, which represent what consumers spend on non-voice services, were more than 28% of all wireless service revenues. In addition, there are now more than 257 million data-capable devices in consumers’ hands, up from 228 million at the end of 2008. 50 million of these devices are smart phones or wireless-enabled PDAs and nearly 12 million are wireless-enabled laptops, notebooks or aircards.
According to the survey, text messaging continues to be enormously popular, with more than 822 billion text messages sent and received on carriers’ networks during the last half of 2009—amounting to almost 5 billion messages per day at the end of the year. During the 2009 calendar year, there were more than 1.5 trillion text messages reported on carriers’ networks. Wireless subscribers are also sending more pictures and other multimedia messages with their mobile devices—more than 24.2 billion MMS messages were reported for the last half of 2009. That’s more than double the number from the previous year, when only 9.3 billion were reported for the last half of 2008.
As of December 2009, the industry survey recorded more than 285 million wireless connections. This represents a year-over-year increase of more than 15 million.
“With wireless connections now equal to more than 91 percent of the U.S. population, mobile broadband is pivotal to ensuring all Americans are ‘digitally literate’. CTIA’s survey results show the wireless ecosystem is constantly reinventing itself, and other industries, to be more productive and efficient. Our members have truly revolutionized and improved the way we live and work in ways that were unimaginable only a few years ago, whether it’s by providing new content and apps, new devices or new uses,” said Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA -The Wireless Association. “Mobile broadband will increasingly play a vital role in people’s lives.”
Other highlights of the survey include wireless customers using more than 1.12 trillion minutes in the last half of 2009, up 38 billion from the last half of 2008—and breaking down to 6.1 billion minutes-of-use per day. Wireless service revenues for the last half of 2009 amounted to almost $77 billion—up from a little more than $75 billion in the last half of 2008.
The CTIA Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey results were released this morning at International CTIA WIRELESS 2010®. The premier marketplace for all things wireless is taking place March 23rd – 25th at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For more survey information, please visit: http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/AID/10316. Also available is a podcast interview with CTIA’s Vice President of Research, Dr. Robert Roche, as he discusses highlights of the survey results.
CTIA-The Wireless Association® (www.ctia.org) is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry’s voluntary best practices and initiatives, and sponsors the industry’s leading wireless tradeshows. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, DC.
