Mobile data usage is exploding as U.S. carriers start to roll out 5G services.

Mobile data usage in the U.S., according to The CTIA (YoY growth):
1) 2017 – 12.9T megabytes
2) 2018 – 28.6T megabytes (↑ 82%)

U.S. smartphone users:
1) 2009 – 50M
2) 2018 – 285M

Why does 5G matter?  Fifth-generation wireless is coming with speeds 10–100X faster than we have today.

What this means for the pay-TV industry: More competition. Cable companies are going into wireless (see Comcast) and wireless companies are going into pay-TV (see AT&T).

Big threat: If a wireless company like Verizon is able to offer fast home broadband delivered via mobile, then the number of home broadband options jumps from 1-2 to 4-5 overnight.

Remember: The majority of profit for pay-TV providers comes from selling broadband rather than the actual pay-TV service.

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