Number of mobile connections in the UK - Data and Analysis (2007-2032)

Over the five years through 2025-26, the number of mobile connections is expected to grow only marginally to 89.6 million connections, fluctuating only slightly over the period. As of 2021, there were approximately 126 mobile connections for every 100 people in the United Kingdom. The number of mobile connections includes personal mobile handset connections, business handset connections and mobile internet connections. Mobile internet connections include mobile internet received through dongles as well as through separate subscriptions for tablet devices. However, this excludes -to-machine connections, such as smart meters. The growth in mobile connections is influenced by a range of social, economic and technological factors, including levels of consumer and business expenditure, technological advancements, population growth, growth in the number of businesses and willingness to embrace new technology.The growth in the number of mobile connections has begun to plateau in the past five years, with the number of connections already far above the population of the United Kingdom. Market saturation for mobile products, particularly among UK households, has contributed to this. Ofcom estimated that the percentage of households that used mobile telephony was 94% in 2020 and has remained relatively unchanged for several years. Over much of the past five years, decline has come from falling internet-only connections, such as for internet dongles. This is likely due to increasing investment into fixed-line broadband, creating stable internet connection for those previously unconnected.Most of the connection growth over the period has come from the business market and people with multiple personal connections. Growth in the business market is driven by an increased tendency for businesses to provide employees with secondary mobile devices on the move. The high level of smartphone ownership began to have a negative effect on the number of mobile connections in 2016-17, reducing the need for the separate personal mobile broadband connections. According to figures collected by Ofcom, approximately 82% of the UK population owned a smartphone in 2020, compared with just 17% in 2008. In 2022-23, IBISWorld estimates that the number of mobile connections in the United Kingdom will remain unchanged. The is following a greater than average increase in 2020-21 due to the number of business connections recovering from a decline in 2020-21 caused by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Additionally, the continued rollout of 5G over the current year is expected to drive demand for mobile broadband connections.