Marc
14 July 2026 · 4 min read
French carriers keep raising the stakes: 100 GB, 200 GB, 350 GB, and even unlimited data on some premium offers. Yet the telecom market report published by Arcep in July 2026 tells a very different story. In the first quarter of 2026, the average French mobile customer used 18.4 GB of data per month — barely a tenth of what the most heavily marketed plans include.
Key figures for Q1 2026
| Indicator (Q1 2026) | Value |
|---|---|
| Average data use per customer | 18.4 GB/month (+1.4 GB year on year) |
| Total mobile network traffic | 4.4 exabytes over the quarter |
| Annual traffic growth | +9.4% (vs ~13% the two previous years) |
| Active 5G SIM cards | 35.4 million (42% of the base) |
| Active 4G SIM cards | 77.4 million (91% of the base) |
| Total SIM cards | 84.7 million |
| SMS sent | −26.9% year on year, i.e. ~54 SMS/month per user |
Two things stand out. First, consumption is still rising, but the pace is slowing: after two years of roughly 13% growth, mobile traffic is now up only 9.4% year on year. Second, the gap between supply and usage is becoming staggering: a 200 GB plan represents more than ten months of average consumption.
Why carriers keep piling on gigabytes
Those allowances may look oversized, but they follow a deliberate commercial logic. Data volume has become the most readable selling point of a plan, and it is often increased without any price rise. Orange's public affairs director summed it up in early 2025: most customers who sign up for an all-you-can-eat offer aren't meeting a real need — they take it "just in case".
Carriers are also betting on tomorrow's usage: high-definition video, cloud storage, tethering, online gaming and on-device AI services. For now, though, those reserves lie idle. A Selectra study in late 2025 estimated that the average user taps only about 10% of the data included in their plan.
That mismatch shows up on the bill: we recently looked at the rise in mobile plan prices in 2026, which goes hand in hand with this race for gigabytes.
5G is growing, 4G is still the backbone
With 35.4 million SIM cards active on 5G networks — 8.8 million more in a year (+33%) — the technology is settling in for good. But it is not replacing 4G: 91% of the base remains active on 4G, still the foundation of everyday usage. That fits the gradual rollout of 5G Standalone and the figures from the ANFR 5G observatory.
Where does SMS fit in?
Here is the most striking part of the report for us: while data keeps climbing, SMS volumes fell 26.9% year on year. The average user now sends about 54 texts a month, against nearly 250 at the 2016 peak. We covered that trend in detail in our piece on the Arcep-measured decline of SMS.
The shift is driven by IP messaging apps — WhatsApp, Messenger, Signal — and by RCS, the announced successor to SMS. But there is a crucial nuance: those apps consume data; SMS does not. It travels over the mobile network's signalling channels.
That is exactly why SMS remains the fallback channel of choice when data isn't available: congested networks, dead zones, an exhausted allowance, or travel abroad. Public warning systems such as FR-Alert and the new satellite SMS services rely on that robustness.
Should you downgrade your plan?
Arcep's numbers suggest most subscribers are paying for volume they will never use. A few benchmarks:
- Under 20 GB/month: that's the French average. A 20–50 GB plan is plenty.
- 20–60 GB/month: regular mobile video streaming or occasional tethering.
- Over 100 GB/month: heavy use, remote work over a 4G/5G box, or replacing a fixed line.
Before switching, check your actual usage over the past six months in your carrier's customer area. The gap between what you pay for and what you use often adds up to tens of euros a year.
In short
- The average French mobile customer uses 18.4 GB/month (Q1 2026, Arcep).
- Traffic growth is slowing: +9.4% year on year, versus ~13% before.
- 5G reaches 42% of the base, but 4G remains the backbone (91%).
- SMS is down 26.9% — while remaining the channel least dependent on data.
Need to send a message without eating into your data allowance? Our free SMS form works from any browser, with no sign-up and no ads. For bulk sending, check out our SMS packs, read the FAQ or get in touch.
