Mobile Data Use Surging, but Tablets Largely a Wi-Fi-Only Affair

Even when tablet buyers opt for a device with the ability to use a cellular network, most are opting to use the device only on Wi-Fi. Analyst Chetan Sharma said that 90 percent of tablets are using Wi-Fi, even though some of those are capable of using a cellular connection. As a result, carriers are a less important factor when it comes to tablet sales.

One key reason is that U.S. carriers don’t allow users to share a data plan with other devices, something that Sharma said should change this year. Those that offer such shared data plans will fare better than those that stick to a plan for each device, Sharma said. One of the interesting things to watch will be how the mix shifts with the new iPad, which is capable of using high-speed LTE networks and — when enabled by the carrier — of acting as a wireless hotspot. While tablets may not be gobbling up much cellular data, smartphones sure are. Sharma said that the U.S. cellphone market generated $67 billion in revenue from data, making up 39 percent of overall revenue. Fourth-quarter data revenue alone was $18.6 billion, up 4 percent sequentially and 19 percent from the prior year. Sharma forecast that mobile data revenue in the U.S. will total $80 billion this year, up from $67 billion in 2011. Additionally, he said he sees the amount of money generated by mobile data passing the amount of revenue from mobile calling in early 2013.