US population growth stalls but wireless subscription growth booms

During the fourth quarter 2023, the top three wireless operators in the US reported a total of 1.78 million new postpaid phone subscribers. How can each carrier report growth in postpaid phone subscribers each quarter in a country whose population is not growing very much? Recon Analytics Analyst Roger Entner said that question is top-of-mind among the operators, who pay Recon substantial sums of money for survey data to try and figure out the answers. They’re particularly interested in the postpaid phone subscribers that the cable operators are gaining. We’ve heard several general explanations for why postpaid phone subscriber numbers constantly grow.

• More children are getting their own phones;
• Businesses are subscribing to more wireless lines;
• Postpaid is cannibalizing prepaid.