Mobile data is quietly doubling every 5 years and will surpass 12 exabytes by 2030.

Have you ever really stopped to consider...

1. The Volume: What’s an Exabyte, Anyway?

   In 2015, North Americans used 1 exabyte of mobile data a month. By 2030, we’ll use 12× that—every single month.

   But how big is that?

   • It’s enough HD video to play continuously for over 38,000 years.
   • The data equivalent of streaming Spotify for 760,000 years.
   • And if one byte were a brick, you could build the Great Wall of China more than 250 million times with a single exabyte.

   Even storing just 1% of an exabyte would require 20 high-capacity servers.

   Now picture 12 of those—month after month. That’s the invisible load mobile networks must carry. (Is your stadium ready for this?)

   And yet, if every household in America streamed Netflix in HD at the same time, an exabyte would last just 2.7 hours—barely six minutes per home. We don’t realize how much data we’re using, how fast it adds up, or what it takes to keep it all flowing.

2. The Speed: Look How Far We’ve Come

   Ten years ago, in 2015:

   • Flip phones were still in pockets.
   • Instagram had no Stories, no Reels—just square photos.
   • Many stadiums struggled to deliver even basic connectivity during big games.

   Now fans expect real-time stats, mobile ticketing, HD streaming, in-seat food ordering, betting, fantasy play, and social sharing—all at once.

   That leap didn’t happen by accident. It was built—by wireless strategists, network engineers, and forward-thinking venue operators.

3. The Future: What Happens When It Doubles Again?

   By 2030, data usage will double again—and expectations will, too.

   • We laugh at flip phones now, but back then few saw the smartphone coming—and we weren’t prepared to seize new opportunities quickly.
   • We think we’re smart today—but only because someone had the foresight to build the infrastructure that made it easier for us.

   So what’s next?

   The rise of the smart stadium—where connectivity isn’t just expected, it’s ambient. Nobody knows all the new experiences smart stadiums will support, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll need a lot of bandwidth.

At AmpThink, we are already building stadium networks to handle the demands of 2030 and beyond. Our frequency-neutral wireless designs and converged network architecture help stadiums handle the growing data load most efficiently.