Tefficient’s 43rd public analysis of mobile data trends and drivers compares data from 39 countries, where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew in every country year-on-year, with Saudi Arabia remaining the usage leader.
Growth rates decelerated
However, growth rates have decelerated – Greece saw the highest increase at 55%, while Croatia and Finland posted just 5%.
Data-only subscriptions, while limited in market share, continue to define average usage. Latvia led with 164 GB per month in 2023, followed by Austria with 136 GB per month in the first half of 2024. In pure FWA, Australia led with 469 GB per month in the first half of 2024, followed by Sweden with 316 GB in 2023 and Ireland with 313 GB in the first half of 2024.
5G’s proportion of traffic grew, but disappoints still
Unlike data-only subscriptions, 5G’s impact on traffic remains limited, except in South Korea, Austria, and Saudi Arabia.
Mobile service revenue per gigabyte continued to decline but at a slower pace, with Greece seeing the sharpest drop, 34%. Inflation-affected Turkey, however, again saw its revenue per gigabyte skyrocket. But this time Finland had an increase too – a first-ever for the country.
ARPU followed data usage upwards
Encouragingly, 73% of markets saw ARPU growth aligned with higher data usage – a positive outcome in line with our previous edition of this analysis.
Download the analysis: Is the end of the S-curve in sight?
Updated 6 Dec 2024 with July 2024 data on 5G traffic and subscribers for the UK
Updated 11 Dec 2024 with Q2 2024 mobile data usage for Qatar
Updated 13 Dec 2024 with adjusted (by Comreg) Q2 2024 mobile data and 5G figures for Ireland
Updated 18 Dec 2024 with 1H 2024 data for Australia and a 1H 2024 5G traffic figure for Romania
Updated 27 Dec 2024 with 1H 2024 data for Greece