--- title: "CTIA Study: We’re Using Lots of Mobile Data These Days" id: "33416" type: "post" slug: "ctia-study-were-using-lots-of-mobile-data-these-days" published_at: "2016-05-23T22:50:20+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T16:47:16+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/05/23/ctia-study-were-using-lots-of-mobile-data-these-days/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/05/23/ctia-study-were-using-lots-of-mobile-data-these-days.md" excerpt: "According to CTIA’s Annual Wireless Industry Survey, 7 in 10 Americans now owns a smartphone, and between 2014 and 2015, our collective data use more than doubled." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Communications" - "mobile data" - "Technology" - "wireless" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » CTIA Study: We’re Using Lots of Mobile Data These Days Need a sign that we’re getting more addicted to our phones than ever? Check out the amount of data we’re using. According to new research [released by CTIA: The Wireless Association (opens in a new tab)](http://www.ctia.org/your-wireless-life/how-wireless-works/annual-wireless-industry-survey) , 2015 was a banner year for mobile data use. U.S. consumers collectively were responsible for 9.65 trillion megabytes of data consumption, more than double the amount consumers used in the prior year (4.06 trillion megabytes, in case you were wondering). Compared to 2010, we’re consuming around 25 times as much data. One of the driving factors for that is the growth of the smartphone, which has been part of the American landscape for the past 20 years. Data use is the key driver of growth in the smartphone market these days, according to the Annual Wireless Industry Survey. We used our phones for more than 2.8 trillion minutes and sent 2.11 trillion text and MMS messages, areas that continued to see growth, but at much smaller rates than that of data consumption. (In fact, texting use has arguably plateaued—it only increased by 1.7 percent between 2014 and 2015.) In a news release, CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker emphasized that the results showed how important it was to continue to expand access to the wireless spectrum. While infrastructure investment is still robust, totaling $31.9 billion in 2015, that’s actually a slight decrease from the prior year. “Our record growth also highlights the continued need for a national focus on making more spectrum available to the mobile industry,” Baker [said in the release (opens in a new tab)](http://www.ctia.org/resource-library/press-releases/archive/americans-data-usage-more-than-doubled-in-2015) . The survey, while not a complete picture of the mobile market due to its voluntary nature, nonetheless covers nearly all of it—CTIA says that 97 percent of mobile providers voluntarily send their data to the organization. You can read more from the survey [at the CTIA website (opens in a new tab)](http://www.ctia.org/your-wireless-life/how-wireless-works/annual-wireless-industry-survey) . (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Communications](https://associationsnow.com/tag/communications/) [#mobile data](https://associationsnow.com/tag/mobile-data/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) [#wireless](https://associationsnow.com/tag/wireless/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoThe Future is Yours to Create. 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