Sherwood News

Americans are using more wireless data and it’s cheaper than ever

A new survey reveals that Americans used 100 trillion megabytes of wireless data last year

9/12/24 4:36PM

If you’ve tried to buy any kind of electronic good recently you’ve probably found a version that can connect to your phone and has an app that you need to download (which is usually terrible), with everything from smart watches, to smart light bulbs, to smart fridges, to self-driving cars now connected to the internet. Indeed, companies continue to produce connected versions of devices which, for years, functioned well without them.

But, in fairness to the people behind those products, all of the evidence shows one thing: that America loves being online and staying connected.

Indeed, according to wireless industry association CTIA’s annual survey, Americans used 100.1 trillion megabytes of wireless data in 2023, nearly double the traffic that was driven in 2021 and more than the amount used in all the years from 2010 to 2018 combined. That’s a lot of watching, scrolling, working, texting, and — realistically — even more watching.

The good news is that all of that mobile connectivity is a lot cheaper than it used to be. According to the report, Americans now pay $.002 per MB of wireless data — a 97% decrease from a decade prior and a 50% decrease since 2020, when the average cost of consumer goods and services began to soar.

The uptick has been driven in large part by the rollout of 5G, which the CTIA estimates to be used by almost 40% of all wireless connections today. The rise in wireless data usage comes amidst an ongoing standoff in Congress over how to find new spectrum, per Reuters.

Claire Yubin Oh

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Judge blocks Pentagon’s move to blacklist Anthropic

A federal judge in Northern California has granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Pentagon from labeling Anthropic as a national security supply chain risk.

The ruling temporarily prevents the Defense Department from restricting the AI company’s access to federal contracts amid a dispute over its refusal to allow certain military and surveillance uses of its technology. The designation could also have shifted lucrative government work toward competitors, including OpenAI.

Earlier this month, Anthropic, the company behind Claude, sued 17 federal agencies and their heads, alleging the government exceeded its statutory authority.

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Report: SpaceX’s record IPO may grant preferential access to retail investors and Tesla shareholders

SpaceX’s impending IPO could raise $40 billion to $80 billion and rank as the largest ever — as well as one of the most unconventional.

The Wall Street Journal reports several ways CEO Elon Musk is considering breaking with IPO norms:

Investors in his other companies, including Tesla, could receive preferential access to shares.
Individual investors may get a third or more of the allocation, far above the typical ~10% mark.
Instead of a traditional road show, Musk wants investors to visit SpaceX facilities in person.

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Investors in his other companies, including Tesla, could receive preferential access to shares.
Individual investors may get a third or more of the allocation, far above the typical ~10% mark.
Instead of a traditional road show, Musk wants investors to visit SpaceX facilities in person.

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Tesla released estimates for Q1 deliveries and they’re lower than analysts expected

Ahead of first-quarter earnings next month, Tesla released its own company-compiled Wall Street consensus estimate for deliveries: 365,645 vehicles. While that’s lower than the 382,000 FactSet consensus estimate, it represents a nearly 9% jump from Q1 2025, when Tesla sold 336,681 vehicles.

Tesla started releasing its own consensus estimates to the public — not just institutional investors — for the first time in Q4 2025. The move was seen as a way to temper investor expectations, as other estimates were too high. Last quarter, Tesla’s compilation was closer to actual numbers, which fell 16% year over year.

The market-implied odds from event contracts suggest 64% of traders think Tesla’s Q1 deliveries will be more than 350,000, 44% think it will be higher than 360,000, and just 21% have it at higher than 370,000.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

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