Tefficient’s 44th public analysis of mobile data trends and drivers compares data from 40 countries, where M2M/IoT can be excluded from the total bases. Mobile data usage grew year-on-year in every country, with Saudi Arabia maintaining its position as the usage leader and Latvia emerging as the new runner-up.
Growth decelerated again – also in GB terms
However, growth rates have decelerated. Greece recorded the highest annual increase at 38%, while Croatia posted the lowest at just 2%. Even in absolute terms [incremental GB per subscription], most countries experienced slower growth in 2024 than in 2023. Overall, the demand for additional mobile data is weaker than ever – although FWA is included in most figures.
Data-only subscriptions, while still representing a small share of the market, continue to drive average usage levels. Latvia led with 195 GB per month in 2024. In the pure FWA segment, Australia topped the chart with 469 GB per month in the first half of 2024.
5G’s proportion of traffic grew, but disappoints still
In contrast to data-only subscriptions, the impact of 5G on overall traffic remains limited – except in South Korea, Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Lithuania.
Mobile service revenue per gigabyte continued to decline, though at a slower pace than before. Greece saw the steepest drop at 26%. However, inflation-hit Turkey again saw a surge in revenue per gigabyte. For the first time, three other countries – Oman, Finland, and Croatia – also recorded increases.
Decelerating usage growth is bad news for ARPU development
Overall, 62% of the markets saw ARPU growth aligned with higher data usage – a softer outcome compared to the previous edition of this analysis.
Download the analysis: The demand for additional mobile data is weaker than ever – ARPU growth softens