More Users and Use, But Less Revenues Although it seems every American spends the day with their eyes on their cellphone screens and with wireless connectivity almost everywhere, 2017 annual industry revenues decreased 5.0% to $179.091 billion, which was the lowest total since 2011. Total estimated wireless subscribers did increase, but a meager 1.1%, to 400.205 million, and total cell sites increased 5.2%, to 324,448, but monthly average revenue per unit declined 6.8%, to $38.66, the lowest average of the past 17 years. An OpenSignal study during December 2017 and January and February 2018 found 51% of Verizon subscribers used Wi-Fi, compared to 54% during the same period last year, and AT&T customers use of Wi-Fi decreased from 52% to 49%.

More of What Makes This Industry Almost Ubiquitous According to CTIA, The Wireless Association, there were 273 million smartphones in use during 2017, a 4.2% increase from 2016’s 262 million and 126.4 million data-only devices, a 19.6% increase from 2016’s 105.7 million. During 2017, there were 2.18 trillion minutes used, 1.768 trillion messages (SMS/MMS) sent/received and 15.687 trillion MBs of wireless traffic, an annual record. CTIA’s The State of Wireless 2018 report states 68% of Americans use their smartphones for much more than phone calls, messages, photos and videos, as use has expanded to mobile banking, health apps, shopping and browsing the Web.

Dueling Platforms According to two independent studies, T-Mobile has surpassed Verizon Wireless in the download speed race. For Q1–Q2 2018, Ookla awarded T-Mobile a 27.86 speed score compared to Verizon Wireless’ 26.02, with AT&T a distant third, at 22.17. OpenSignal rated T-Mobile’s average download speed at 19.43 Mbps; Verizon, 17.77 Mbps; AT&T, 13.27 Mbps; and Sprint, 12.02 Mbps. Ookla’s data indicates the mean download speed in the US increased 20.4% from 2017 to 2018, or 27.33 Mbps, while upload speeds increased 1.4% to a mean of 8.63 Mbps.

Almost Everyone Is on Their Phone The latest Piper Jaffray “teen survey” is great news for Apple, as 82% of US teens own an iPhone, or 5 percentage points more than the fall 2017 survey. Plus, 84% of teens said their next phone would be an iPhone and 20% plan to buy an Apple Watch soon. A January 2018 survey from Pew Research Center reports 95% of US adults own any cellphone, with 77% owning a smartphone. Of all adults 18–29, 100% own any cellphone and 94% a smartphone. Among the oldest adults, or those 65+, 85% own any type of cellphone, 46% a smartphone and the remaining 40% a cellphone, but not a smartphone.

Customers Are Best Served Through Social Media, Apps and Videos Findings from the J.D. Power 2018 US Wireless Customer Care Full- Service Performance StudySM indicate customers are most satisfied (a score of 838 on a 1,000-point scale) when communicating with their carrier via social media and its app (a score of 835). Customers also think they are receiving better service when their carrier interaction includes personalized feedback, such as assisted care (a score of 819) compared to unassisted care (a score of 793). Of all survey participants, 92% also said viewing online videos as their first contact with their carrier resolved issues/problems while 90% said the carrier’s mobile app was best for researching information.

5G Will Change Everything Wireless 4G has been the primary wireless technology for many years; however, 5G, the next generation, is starting to be introduced in some US markets. T-Mobile will make it available in 30 cities and Verizon 5 cities during 2018, with nationwide 5G by 2020. 5G is needed to accommodate the huge increase in the number of devices on which we access the Internet and much of that access, videos at higher resolution, specifically, requires much more bandwidth than 4G can deliver. 5G will use much higher frequencies than 4G, operate with much smaller antennas and support many more devices. Generally, 5G’s speed will be 20 times faster than 4G’s, downloading 10 movies while 4G is downloading only half of one.

Advertising Strategies Based on the Piper Jaffray teen survey, cellular stores will want to target more teens for iPhone and Apple watch sales for the near-time as well as into the future as they become adults. Cellular stores should consider hiring a “seniors smartphone customer consultant” (even part-time) to help adults 65+ understand the advantages of owning a smartphone instead of a common cellphone, and to generate more sales among this age group. Carriers that don’t do well among air travelers, according to The Media Audit data on page 4 of the Profiler, should consider a promotion of travel-related premiums (neck cushion, nutrition snack packages, packing organizers, etc.) to entice more consumers to switch.

New Media Strategies Stores that hire a “seniors smartphone customer consultant” should have him or her record a series of short videos about helpful tips and hints for senior cellphone and smartphone owners, with special limited-time offers when upgrading to a smartphone. Post stories on your Website and social media platforms, preferably short videos, announcing the latest transition from 4G to 5G, especially when it is available in the local market, and emphasizing the benefits. Conduct regular polls/surveys with your customers, asking about their wireless use, how it benefits their lives and work, why they prefer your carrier service, and which phones they like, and why.