Survey Finds 21% Gain In '99 Net New Subscribers
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 5/1/2000
The number of net new wireless phone subscribers grew last year at a double-digit rate for the second consecutive year, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) announced.
The association's semiannual carrier survey found that the number of net new cellular, PCS and ESMR subscribers grew 21% in 1999 to 16.8 million, following 1998's 25% gain to 13.9 million. Single-digit gains in 1996 and 1997 interrupted the annual double-digit gains enjoyed by the industry since its commercial inception in 1984.
Last year's gains expanded the year-end subscriber base to almost 86.1 million users, or more than 31% of the total U.S. population, the association said.
As of April 20, 2000, the CTIA estimates a subscriber base of 90.7 million.
From its survey, the CTIA also found that:
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The number of digital service subscribers grew 110% to 38.5 million, accounting for 47.5% of the total subscriber base.
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Average monthly phone bills rose for the first time since 1988, but only by 4.6% to $41.24, even though users increased their average usage by 38.5% to 180 minutes per month.
Other data uncovered by the CTIA indicate why carriers have been scaling back per activation compensation to retailers. In 1999 carrier revenues hit a record $40 billion, but more than a fourth of that revenue ($10.7 billion) was spent on capital investment.
For the survey, CTIA received responses from 3,216 of the 3,518 systems operating in the United States.
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