This is why telecom is profiting so much today, and this is why telecom is experiencing so many challenges today- because of the age of consumerism. Today, society consumes so much more than it ever has in history. As a result, with this age of consumerism telecom has the opportunity to produce and provide more than it ever needed to before. However, this high demand for production to the consumer comes with its own great challenges for the producing industries like telecom.
The Growth Rate of the Age of Consumerism in Telecom
In 2016, 3.668 billion people were smartphone users. Today, 6.378 billion people in the world are smartphone users. Within the last five years, the consumption of smartphone usage has almost doubled globally. Then in 2019, the average household in the U.S. had 11 connected devices. Just two years later, the number of connected devices doubled to 25 on average per household.
But the rate of consumerism is not only increasing in the number of device usage. It is also increasing in the data consumed. YouTube users watch over 1 billion videos daily. 1.93billion users log onto Facebook every day. The average American spends 10 hours and 39 minutes on-screen per day. Within the last five years internet data usage increased by 3.5x. Today, households are getting close to using around 500 GB of data per month as content consumption is at an all-time high.
The Blessing of the Age of Consumerism- Profits Are Great
There is no doubt about it. Because of the increase in consumption, the profits for the telecom industry have greatly increased. The wireless telecommunications carriers alone saw an average increase of 1.8% growth per year in the last five years. In 2016, that market was worth over $283.4billion. In 2021, it became worth over $310.0billion.
Challenges- Supply Shortages
One of the biggest challenges today for telecom lies in limited production. The supply available is limited, while demand for consumption is at a record high. As a result, the telecom industry is seeing more shortages than ever before. Billions are invested in hopes of being able to find solutions for the chip shortages, that are resulting in the current under-supply of devices.
Worker Shortages
Another major challenge the telecom industry sees today is worker shortages. Companies like AT&T and Verizon are working hard to produce and expand the essential 5G internet. However, it is very difficult to do so when there is a shortage of qualified employees. It is hard when there are more consumers than there are producers. But what is even more daunting for producers is the fact that most consumers are consuming not because they are hungry, but because they are addicted. This means that the consumer will not be satisfied anytime soon. Instead, with the upcoming years the demands for supply will only continue to increase.
The age of consumerism is what created telecom to the great industry that it is today. However, it is also the reason why telecom is under more pressure and stress than it ever was before. From global chip shortages to trying to keep up with the 5G expansions, the telecom industry definitely has a few challenges lying ahead. But along with the challenges, come the promises of many more opportunities as well.
