So How Much Data Are We Using, and Which Mobile Apps Are We Consuming Those Data For?

A recent report published by FierceWireless is aiming to shed some light on exactly how much data (on cellular and on Wi-Fi) mobile users nowadays are consuming, as well as with which mobile apps are we using that amount of gigabytes. In collecting the information, FierceWireless joined forces with P3 (along with P3’s partner Strategy Analytics). The data was collected between September and December of last year. 

The findings indicate that the frequency of mobile app usage on cellular networks has increased during the last three months of 2016. As for the frequency of app usage on Wi-Fi connections, the opposite is true. Except for Verizon Wireless, users on all major US wireless carriers consumed more data with apps on cellular compared to on Wi-Fi, with Sprint showing the largest shift in app sessions from Wi-Fi to cellular. The introduction of Sprint’s unlimited data plans may have something to do with this, and could also be directly involved in the rise of usage time and amount of data per user per day on cellular.

When it comes to the percentage of time consumers use any mobile app on Wi-Fi during the final quarter of last year, the data shows that users on all of the Big Four operators have increased their usage time, with T-Mobile customers showing the best improvement, despite T-Mobile capturing the least share among all carriers. At Verizon Wireless, users continue to take full advantage of Wi-Fi for more than half of their app usage time.

Now we go to the data pertaining to the most used mobile apps for users under the Big Four, measured in terms of the amount of transmitted data as well as the time users spent with the apps on both cellular and Wi-Fi. There is no surprise at all that the Facebook app has dominated the usage charts in terms of time, regardless if it is on cellular or Wi-Fi. The Netflix app meanwhile has now become one of the top ten apps that Sprint subscribers use on cellular.

The report also offers insights on the amount data on cellular and on Wi-Fi that is consumed by users belonging to different age brackets. In all major wireless carriers, younger users generally consume more data on cellular. Among those at most 25 years old, the data shows that they have higher data usage on Wi-Fi as compared to those belonging to older age brackets.