data usage

mobile
April 17, 2012
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Wireless data traffic grew 123% in the U.S. last year

By on April 17, 2012 at 6:50 PM.

Wireless data traffic grew 123% in the U.S. last year

As sales of smartphones and tablets reach all time heights, consumers in the United States are streaming more movies, downloading more apps and viewing more websites on their wireless devices. According to a recent report from the CTIA, annual wireless data traffic in the U.S. grew 123% from 388 billion megabytes in 2010 to 866.7 billion megabytes in 2011. The survey also found that the number of active smartphones in the U.S. increased by 43% to 111.5 million units in 2011 compared with 78.2 million in 2010. “As the President, bipartisan members of Congress, FCC Chairman and Commissioners and other policymakers have repeatedly advocated, the U.S. wireless industry must have access to more spectrum so we can continue to improve our nation’s economy and meet our consumers’ demands,” Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA, said in a statement. In order to handle the massive demand for wireless data, U.S. mobile carriers are continuing to invest in their networks through 4G upgrades and increased coverage and capacity with more cell sites. Read on for CTIA’s press release. More →

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Business
February 15, 2012
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AT&T on data throttling: Blame yourselves

By on February 15, 2012 at 10:20 AM.

AT&T on data throttling: Blame yourselves

In an effort to justify its policies surrounding data service throttling for subscribers with unlimited smartphone data plans, AT&T on Tuesday issued a brief report regarding data usage on its nationwide wireless network. Senior EVP of AT&T technology and network operations John Donovan wrote on a company blog that data traffic on AT&T’s network has grown a staggering 20,000% over the past five years. Usage has doubled between 2010 and 2011 according to the executive, due in large part to the proliferation of smartphones. AT&T sold more smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2011 than in any other quarter in its history. And because its smartphone subscribers use so much data, AT&T seems to suggest it has no choice but to put measures such as data throttling in place. Read on for more. More →

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mobile
June 17, 2011
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Smartphone data usage jumps 89% in the U.S., Android users still biggest gluttons

By on June 17, 2011 at 2:11 PM.

Smartphone data usage jumps 89% in the U.S., Android users still biggest gluttons

The Nielsen Company on Friday released its latest findings regarding smartphone data usage and as expected, data consumption continued to increase at an explosive pace in the first quarter of 2011. In the same quarter last year, the average smartphone user consumed 230MB of data on their device each month. Last quarter, that number shot up 89% to 435MB. The heaviest data users are responsible for the bulk of the growth, with average data usage among the top 10% of smartphone owners having grown 155% from 1.8GB to 4.6GB on average each month. Lucky for them, the average cost per megabyte of smartphone data has dropped 46% over the same period, from $0.14 in the first quarter of 2010 to $0.08 last quarter. Android users remain the most data hungry, averaging 582MB each month, and iPhone users followed closely behind last quarter, using 492MB of data each month on average. Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry users round out the top-5, consuming 317MB, 174MB and 127MB on average each month, respectively. Some additional data from Nielsen’s report can be seen after the break. More →

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General
December 17, 2009
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WSJ: AT&T to offer incentives for lower data use

By on December 17, 2009 at 3:03 PM.

WSJ: AT&T to offer incentives for lower data use

RdelaV Convo

The internet has been raging against AT&T since early last week when CEO Ralph de la Vega suggested that AT&T may implement some type of tiered data plan structure to combat the 3% of its smartphone users chewing up 40% of its data. Today, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that AT&T is considering offering bribes, nay, incentives for smartphone owners who use less data than the company thinks is acceptable. How much is acceptable? Details have yet to emerge, but let us not kid ourselves, the “smartphone users” de la Vega and company are trying to rein in are YouTube uploading, Qik streaming, podcast downloading, data sleighing iPhone users who are using their device to its fullest potential. We’re pretty confident that old Ralph is talking about us, so BGR readers take a bow. We’ll be sure to stay on top of this one as it develops. In the mean time, we would be interested to know what AT&T would have to offer you to curb your data usage. More →

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