CTIA

Americans continue to demand more wireless data to power everything—from AI to wearables, digital streaming services, and more. In 2025 alone, Americans used a staggering 159.3 trillion megabytes of data—20 percent more data than was used the previous year and 39 percent more data than was used during the entire 4G decade. That growth reflects the increasingly central role wireless plays in everyday life, as data demand is expected to grow 4x by 2032. And the growth of AI will place an even greater strain on America’s wireless networks.

Wireless and AI are rapidly evolving together with greater reliance upon each other to drive future innovation. To secure U.S. leadership, policymakers should view these technologies through the lens of one unified strategy. AI requires wireless networks to move data, help coordinate real-time decisions, and operate effectively with the physical world. In turn, wireless networks rely on AI to manage the surging complexity and record traffic driven by AI’s own insatiable data demands. This convergence should inform our nation’s wireless and AI strategy.

The wireless industry, fueled by continual innovation and vigorous competition, has a long track record of delivering ever greater value to American consumers. CTIA’s 2026 Wireless Affordability Tracker surveys advertised unlimited plans and more affordable prepaid options, as well as a variety of government data, all showing wireless prices declining. Wireless is helping fight inflation, allowing consumers to spend more elsewhere. What’s more, wireless networks keep getting better.

Numerous European executives and policy leaders have recently lamented the relatively poor state of Europe’s digital infrastructure.

CTIA, the wireless industry association, announced that Ajit Pai has been named President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. Pai will join CTIA from Searchlight Capital Partners. He will replace Meredith Attwell Baker, who announced her retirement in December and has served in the role since 2014. Prior to joining Searchlight Capital Partners in 2021, Pai served in senior leadership roles in the Federal Communications Commission for almost a decade.

CTIA, the wireless industry association, and CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker announced she will retire from CTIA in 2025 with the end of her contract. Baker has served as the head of the wireless association since 2014. Baker joined CTIA after years of distinguished public service, serving as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission and leading the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services could serve 8.4 million rural households — nearly half the rural homes in the US — with a “future-proof”, rapidly deployable, and cost-effective high-speed broadband option, according to a new Accenture study commissioned by CTIA, the wireless industry association. The report, titled 5G Fixed Wireless Broadband: Helping Close the Digital Divide in Rural America, discusses how 5G FWA services can quickly and cost-effectively bring high-speed broadband to 8.4 million households in rural parts of the country.