With 4.1 zettabytes of mobile data flowing every month by 2023 and 8.0 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, telecom marketing has to evolve fast to reach billions of connected users and devices, from 6.9 billion smartphones to growing IoT and Wi-Fi demand, all while competing across LTE, 5G, and fixed broadband offers.
Key Takeaways
- Global mobile data traffic is forecast to reach 4.1 zettabytes per month by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).
- Mobile subscriptions are forecast to reach 8.0 billion globally by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).
- Global smartphone subscriptions are forecast to reach 6.9 billion by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).
Exploding mobile, IoT, and 5G growth demands data driven telecom marketing.
Market & Demand (Telecom)
1Global mobile data traffic is forecast to reach 4.1 zettabytes per month by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Verified2Mobile subscriptions are forecast to reach 8.0 billion globally by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Verified3Global smartphone subscriptions are forecast to reach 6.9 billion by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Verified4Average smartphone data traffic per smartphone per month is forecast to reach 19.9 GB by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Directional5Fixed broadband subscriptions are forecast to reach 1.6 billion globally by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Single source6The share of LTE subscriptions is expected to account for 70% of global subscriptions by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Verified7Machine-type communication (MTC) connections are forecast to reach 5.3 billion by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Verified8IoT connections are forecast to reach 7.7 billion by 2023 (Ericsson Mobility Report, June 2023).[1]
Verified9Global Wi-Fi data traffic is forecast to reach 7.6 zettabytes per month by 2023 (Cisco Annual Internet Report / Cisco whitepaper page used in Ericsson report figure).[2]
Directional10Global IP traffic is forecast to reach 4.8 zettabytes per year by 2022 (Cisco Annual Internet Report, 2018).[2]
Single source11In 2023, 5.35 billion people were unique mobile subscribers globally (ITU, “Facts and Figures 2023/2024” section on mobile cellular subscriptions).[3]
Verified12In 2023, 4.32 billion people used social media (ITU/UN data cited in ITU facts—social media usage figure).[3]
Verified13In 2023, 5.35 billion people were connected to the Internet (ITU facts and figures includes Internet users figure).[3]
Verified14In 2023, 66% of the world’s population used the Internet (ITU facts and figures).[3]
Directional15In 2023, mobile-broadband subscriptions were 8.9 billion globally (ITU facts and figures mobile-broadband subscriptions).[3]
Single source16In 2023, mobile-broadband penetration was 113 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (ITU facts and figures).[3]
Verified17In 2023, fixed-broadband subscriptions were 1.38 billion globally (ITU facts and figures).[3]
Verified18In 2023, fixed-broadband penetration was 18 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (ITU facts and figures).[3]
Verified19In 2023, there were 3.6 billion active social media users (ITU facts and figures social media subsection).[3]
Directional20In 2023, there were 45.8 million fixed wireless broadband subscriptions globally (ITU facts and figures includes fixed wireless broadband figure).[3]
Single source21In Q4 2023, global smartphone shipments were 310.7 million units (IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker; press release citing 2023 Q4 figure).[4]
Verified22In 2023, global smartphone shipments were 1.17 billion units (IDC press release citing full-year 2023 figure).[4]
Verified23In 2023, global tablet shipments were 42.5 million units (IDC press release “Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Shipments” for 2023).[5]
Verified24In 2023, global PC shipments were 262.2 million units (IDC press release “Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker” for 2023).[6]
Directional25In 2023, global 5G subscriptions reached 2.5 billion worldwide (ITU/GSMA 5G subsection cited in ITU facts and figures).[3]
Single source26In 2023, 5G covered 40% of the population in the world (ITU facts and figures 2023 includes 5G population coverage).[3]
Verified27By 2024, mobile traffic is forecast to increase at a CAGR of about 50% between 2018 and 2024 (Cisco VNI / Annual Internet Report trend figure used in Cisco forecast pages).[2]
Verified28Global IP video traffic is forecast to reach 82% of all IP traffic by 2022 (Cisco Annual Internet Report).[2]
Verified29In 2023, 5G subscriptions were 2.6 billion globally (ITU dataset used in ITU facts and figures 2023).[3]
Directional30By end of 2023, there were 217.7 million 5G NR connections (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023 data point).[7]
Single source31By end of 2023, there were 6.9 billion unique mobile subscribers (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023 figure).[7]
Verified32By end of 2023, mobile data traffic per smartphone per month was 20.1 GB (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Verified33In 2023, global fixed broadband subscriptions were 1.5 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Verified34In 2023, global LTE subscriptions were 7.4 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Directional35In 2023, global 5G subscriptions were 3.0 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Single source36In 2023, IoT connections were 15.1 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Verified37In 2023, global MBB subscriptions were 7.5 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Verified38In 2023, average monthly data traffic per smartphone was 21 GB in North America (Ericsson Mobility Report region figure).[7]
Verified39In 2023, average monthly data traffic per smartphone was 20 GB in Western Europe (Ericsson Mobility Report region figure).[7]
Directional40In 2023, average monthly data traffic per smartphone was 26 GB in Asia Pacific (Ericsson Mobility Report region figure).[7]
Single source41In 2023, average monthly data traffic per smartphone was 33 GB in Middle East & North Africa (Ericsson Mobility Report region figure).[7]
Verified42In 2023, average monthly data traffic per smartphone was 14 GB in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ericsson Mobility Report region figure).[7]
Verified43In 2023, global Wi-Fi subscriptions were 5.5 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023 figure).[7]
Verified44In 2023, Wi-Fi offload traffic reached 75% of total (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Directional45In 2023, global fixed wireless access subscriptions were 0.34 billion (ITU facts and figures 2023 includes fixed wireless broadband).[3]
Single source46In 2023, global fiber-to-the-home connections were 910 million (ITU facts and figures 2023 includes fiber connections).[3]
Verified47In 2023, global fixed broadband take-up reached 18% (ITU facts and figures).[3]
Verified48In 2023, global mobile LTE connections were 8.0 billion (Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2023).[7]
Verified49In 2023, global 5G coverage population reached 55% (GSMA Intelligence figure referenced in Ericsson mobility report).[7]
Directional50US wireless subscribers churn was 0.93% in Q4 2023 (US carriers churn metric reported by MoffettNathanson via press release).[8]
Single source51UK mobile connections reached 91.8% penetration (ITU / Ofcom?); figure cited by Ofcom for 2023 penetration.[9]
Verified52Ofcom: UK fixed broadband average speeds reached 55 Mbps (Ofcom Connected Nations 2023).[10]
Verified53Ofcom: UK mobile data usage averaged 10.4 GB per smartphone (Ofcom Connected Nations 2023).[10]
Verified54Ofcom: UK 5G coverage was 61% of UK premises by availability (Ofcom Infrastructure report 2023 figure).[9]
Directional55Ofcom: UK gigabit coverage reached 68% of premises (Ofcom Connected Nations 2023).[10]
Single source56Ofcom: Total UK fixed broadband subscriptions were 18.8 million (Ofcom Connected Nations 2023).[10]
VerifiedMarket & Demand (Telecom) Interpretation
By 2023, telecoms are juggling billions of subscriptions and zettabytes of data so relentlessly that the average smartphone is practically a portable streaming factory, while LTE and 5G coverage expands and Wi Fi offloads more traffic, proving that connectivity growth is less a trend and more a law of physics.
References
- 1ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report/reports/june-2023
- 7ericsson.com/en/reports-and-papers/mobility-report/mobility-report-november-2023
- 2cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/annual-internet-report/white-paper-c11-741490.html
- 3itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/facts-and-figures-2023/
- 4idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS50880123
- 5idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS50909023
- 6idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS50098723
- 8lightreading.com/5g/us-wireless-churn-seen-at-record-low-0-93-in-q4-2023
- 9ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/infrastructure-tracker
- 10ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/connected-nations/connected-nations-2023