Rewheel / research

Country brief: United States (US)

EU member?	No
OECD member?	Yes
Regulatory authority:	FCC (link)
Number of operators:	4
Population:	325,719,200
Mobile data penetration:	132%
Spectrum assigned:	424.2 MHz
700 MHz band assigned?
Data volume 2017:	15,700,000 TB
Data volume per pop 2017:	4.0 GB/month/capita (top: Finland, 23.8)
Spectrum usage 2017:	113.6 MB/year/MHz/pop (top: Finland, 479.7)

Group	Operator	SIMs	Total low and high frequency spectrum MHz	Data volume 2017 TB	MB/year/MHz per pop 2017
● Verizon	Verizon-US	145,859,000	114.9	5,562,215	148.6
● ATT	ATT-US	134,875,000	168.4	5,143,349	106.4
● Softbank	Sprint-US	59,515,000	188.3	2,269,557	136.1
● DeutscheTelekom	T-Mobile-US	71,455,000	109.7	2,724,879	76.3

Further mobile data competitiveness and spectrum mertics and insights on United States (US) for industry professionals

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Rewheel Insights, research reports and external articles citing Rewheel about United States

Here’s what happens when the number of nationwide wireless providers drops from 4 to 3

[External article, Fierce Wireless]
May 2018

Mobile carrier consolidations across Europe suggest that while per-gigabyte prices in three-player markets continue dropping, they do so more slowly than in markets with four carriers, according to an extensive study on the topic by Rewheel

Why T-Mobile and Sprint’s limited unlimited plans won’t open the data floodgates

[External article, Telecom TV]
August 2016

“Once you move away from volume plans and down the unlimited route, the substitution effect will start taking shape. It takes time for the consumers to realise that they do not need to pay twice for the same thing.”

Mobile Price Wars: No Sign of Peace in Europe

[External article, The Wall Street Journal]
June 2016

The gap between European and U.S. mobile pricing seems likely to remain wide.

The Biggest Hole in the FCC's New Internet Rules

2015

United States

zero-rating

[External article, Bloomberg]
February 2015

Zero-rating won't be blocked by the FCC's Open Internet proposals—and it could a major challenge to net neutrality. Rewheel quoted.

36 leading US scholars, in a letter addressed to the FCC, have called for the ban of paid prioritisation, including zero-rating

2015

United States

zero-rating

January 2015

This is the first letter by leading scholars that unequivocally supports a bright-line ban on all forms of paid prioritization (including zero-rating).

New Republican Bill Is Network Neutrality in Name Only

2015

United States

zero-rating

[External article, Stanford Law Review, by Barbara van Schewick & Morgan N. Weiland]
January 2015

On closer examination, the bill is so narrowly written that it fails to adequately protect users, innovators, and speakers against blocking, discrimination, and access fees. Citing Digital Fuel Monitor research.

US and EU legislators question zero-rating

2014

United States

zero-rating

September 2014

FCC refocuses the US net neutrality debate on zero-rating over wireless networks while in Europe national telecom regulators and the European Parliament are taking a closer look.

A government ruled for net neutrality. Too bad it wasn't your government

2014

United States

zero-rating

[External article, The Guardian]
June 2014

In America and Europe, the internet is going mobile out of convenience. In the developing world, mobile is the internet. Here's what happens when companies take advantage of that. Citing Digital Fuel Monitor.

US vs EU & OECD: prices, network performance, consumption, penetration

2014

United States

pricing

April 2014

In this flash insight we benchmarked key mobile internet connectivity competitiveness metrics in the United States against EU Member States and other OECD countries. In addition we show Deutsche Telekom (T-mobile) prices and network performance (measured by OpenSignal) in US vs different EU Member States.

Competitive mobile markets bolster take up, says study

[External article, The Financial Times, subscription required]
March 2014

Rewheel is launching a tracker of prices, performance, spectrum use, consumption and adoption across Europe, which includes 1,404 smartphone and data-only tariff plans offered in 43 countries from 145 operators.

Debunking false claims of ETNO: EU is NOT falling behind in 4G

October 2013

Contrary to GSMA's and ETNO's unsubstantiated claims echoed by Vice President Neelie Kroes Commissioner for EU's Digital Agenda, European 3G/4G consumers pay 5x less and use more mobile data at faster connections speeds than US consumers.

Lack of competition inflates EU smartphone costs

[External article, The Financial Times, subscription required]
January 2013

Mobile users pay up to 10 times more to use smartphones in EU countries that lack an independent “challenger” telecoms group outside the large, dominant pan-European operators, according to Rewheel's research.