The use of Mobile Phones in 2024 & the Future Telecoms
In 1973, the first mobile phone call was made by Motorola engineer Martin Cooper. On what was then-called a Radio Telephone System, the DynaTAC 8000X device made a call to Martin’s business rival at AT&T, Joel Engel. The phone weighed over 1kg. It could provide almost half an hour of talk time on 10 hours of charge and cost close to US$4,000.
Since then, engineers have continued to develop modern devices to become lighter, faster and smarter. The world’s lightest laptop - the Apple MacBook Air - weighs 1.22kg. Electric aircraft can take just one hour to reach full charge and the average smartphone price is approximately US$300.
In fact, there are over 8.65bn mobile connections in circulation, more than one mobile device per person on the planet, according to Telefónica’s Digital 2024 report.
5bn people spend an average of five hours a day on their phones
Telefónica’s data shows that there are 5.62bn unique users, which stands at 69.4% of the total world population, an increase of 2.5%, which means that 138m people have joined this category.
82% of all these connections are smartphones, compared to 15% of basic mobile phones and a scant 3% of tablets. Android accounts for 70.48% of the market next to IOs, which is at 28.8%.
The estimated daily usage is five hours and one minute, an increase of 16 minutes from the previous year. Of this time, it is spent:
- 34.7% for messaging and social networking applications
- 31.4% on entertainment
- 11.1% video games.
The latest mobile technology developments have included work in augmented reality and foldable devices.
In addition to that, the mobile sector is exploring options besides the smartphone, such as the retro Barbie flip phone and advancing its sustainability efforts to combat e-waste and protect the wellbeing of children.
But what’s next?
Emerging telecommunications inventions set to shape consumer choices
There are many ideas as to what’s in store for the future of mobile technology, with longer-last battery life and clearer calls at the top of the list. Wireless charging is another practical feature highly desired by consumers.
Better enabled 5G connectivity and functionality is also on the list. Slow network speeds can cause great disappointment, especially at events where it also a safety issue. Recent research from Ericsson shows that 5G smartphone users who encounter connectivity issues at event venues are three times more likely to switch providers within six months.
Since the launch of 5G across the 28 markets that Ericsson has studied, 17% of 5G users have switched providers. The main reason for this is network-related, not due to cost. Results showed that half of users made the switch to obtain an improved 5G network experience. An essential determinant of switching decisions is 5G performance in critical usage locations.
Check out our Top 10: Emerging Technologies in Telecommunications, where we consider some of the leading emerging technologies in the telecommunications sector that seek to boost enterprise operations.
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