Tefficient’s 37th public analysis of mobile data development and drivers compares trends across 37 countries worldwide, excluding M2M/IoT from the total bases.
Previous analyses have shown that the pandemic led to a significant increase in mobile data usage. However, the demand for more mobile data has since slowed down. In 2022, Czechia experienced the highest growth rate in mobile data usage, reaching 59%. At the other end of the spectrum, Qatar and Taiwan had relatively lower increases, both below 9%.
Data-only subscriptions continue to dominate average mobile data usage, although their market share remains limited. In 2022, Latvia‘s average data-only subscription reached 138 GB per month. In the FWA-only category, Australia recorded 286 GB, while Sweden reached 250 GB.
Overall, mobile data revenue once again reached its lowest level, although the erosion in revenue per gigabyte has slowed compared to previous analyses. Greece experienced the fastest erosion rate at 30%, while Turkey witnessed an increase.
Excluding M2M, 71% of markets experienced an increase in ARPU following onto data usage growth, which is a positive outcome. However, when accounting for overall inflation, the ARPU growth is almost always slower than inflation.
Download the analysis: ARPU growth almost always slower than inflation
Updated with full year 2022 data for Croatia 11 July
Updated with full year 2022 data for Austria and regulator-reported 2022 revenue for Denmark 14 July 2023