2020 was a horrific year – but not for the global mobile data traffic that grew 38%

Not just sunshine, though – revenue fell 2%

Tefficient’s 30th public analysis on the development and drivers of mobile data ranks 105 operators based on average data usage per SIM, total data traffic and revenue per gigabyte in the full year of 2020.

The data usage per SIM grew for basically every operator. 39% could turn that data usage growth into ARPU growth.

39% is a bit lower than in our previous reports and the pandemic is of course to blame when restrictions and WFH more or less put an end to travelling and commuting and shifted traffic from mobile to fixed networks. But as not all homes have access to fixed broadband – or good enough fixed broadband to support both remote work and remote schooling – mobile data stepped in. 38% global growth in mobile data traffic is actually quite remarkable given the pandemic – and that 39% of operators could grow ARPU in that context is impressive. This analysis names the winners.

39% of operators weren’t enough to keep the overall mobile service revenue from falling, though. It fell 2% in 2020.


Download analysis: 2020 was a horrific year – but not for the global mobile data traffic that grew 38%