Number of Wireless Devices Exceed U.S. Population

Go West Wireless, young man. – Horace Greeley, paraphrased.

Great piece in today’s Washington Post pointing out that there are now more wireless devices being used in the United States than there are Americans.

The number of mobile devices rose 9 percent in the first six months of 2011, to 327.6 million — more than the 315 million people living in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Wireless network data traffic rose 111 percent, to 341.2 billion megabytes, during the same period.

How is this possible? Many adults have more than one wireless device, which include smartphones, tablets, and wireless cards.Analysts have also pointed to the shorter lifecycle of electronics in U.S. homes, a trend prompted mostly by the availability of high-speed wireless access and more affordable devices.

The typical home of 2.6 people has an average of 24 gadgets, including at least one smartphone — double the number 15 years ago, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group.

One theme of the Global Macro Monitor is that tech is the new frontier and the new Manifest Destiny of the global community.