Wireless Telecommunications Carriers
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 5,400 wireless telecommunications carriers develop, manage, operate, and maintain switching and transmission facilities that provide communications through the airwaves. Wireless telecommunication is the transmission of voice and data through electromagnetic signals that enable users to communicate through various devices, such as cellular phones. Major service categories include wireless voice, wireless data, wireline (landline), broadband, media, and security. Firms may also sell communications devices, like smartphones and tablets.
High Industry Concentration
The US wireless telecommunications industry is virtually an oligopoly that is dominated by a handful of large companies.
Capital Intensity
Wireless communication is capital-intensive and requires a significant investment in spectrum and network infrastructure.
Industry size & Structure
The average wireless telecommunications carrier employs about 16 workers and generates over $57 million annually.
- The wireless telecommunications carrier industry consists of about 5,400 firms that employ 86,000 workers and generates over $309 billion annually.
- The industry is highly concentrated; the top 50 companies account for over 95% of industry revenue.
- AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint are the top wireless carriers in the US. National carriers support international wireless communications services, primarily through agreements with foreign carriers. Operations outside of the US are limited.
Industry Forecast
Wireless Telecommunications Carriers Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Nov 14, 2024 - Ten-year Smartphone Sales Surpass $4.6 Trillion
- Consumers worldwide spent more than $4.6 trillion on smartphones from 2014 through 2024, according to Statista and Counterpoint Research. Annual spending on smartphones increased 43% during the period. The years 2021 and 2023 were the best for smartphone sales, generating revenue of $481.2 billion and $479 billion, respectively. Smartphone sales revenue is expected to hit $467 billion in 2024.
- Americans used just over 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data in 2023, up 36% over the prior year in the largest single-year increase in wireless data consumption, according to wireless industry association CTIA, which represents major wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T, T Mobile, and many technology firms. The increase -- 26 trillion MBs over 2022 -- comes as a growing number of 5G wireless devices are being used, according to CTI. The share of adults who reported using the internet increased from 86% in 2015 to 95% in 2023, according to the Pew Research Center.
- Wireless-only is by far the dominant telecommunications service in US households, according to the US Census Bureau. About 47.7% of US adults lived in a wireless-only household and 43.7% in a household with both landline and wireless service in 2015. By 2022, the share of adults living in wireless-only households had jumped to 72.6% while the share in households with both landline and wireless had dipped to 25.4%. The share of adults living in landline-only households dropped from 5.8% in 2015 to 1.3% in 2022.
- Wireless telecommunications carrier industry employment decreased slightly during the first nine months of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Wireless telecommunications carriers increased prices slightly during the first nine months of 2024, according to the BLS. Wireless telecommunications carrier sales are forecast to grow at a 2.56% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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