In 2018, the global cost of fraud exceeded $3 trillion. There are countless types of fraud that contribute to these losses, including identity theft, telemarketing scams, insurance fraud, and so many more.

After months of planning and preparation, Mobile World Congress (MWC) now seems like a distant memory. With headlines and column inches over the past few months full of talk of 5G, 5G trials and 5G firsts, it comes as no surprise that the big focus for this year’s show was on the next generation of cellular technology.

The industry is set to welcome the first 5G smartphones into the market this year with most manufacturers planning to launch the new models early in the year. AT&T has announced it will add a Samsung smartphone to its 5G device collection, with Verizon doing the same. We can also expect to see 5G-ready devices from the likes of LG and OnePlus early on in 2019.

2018 was an eventful year for the global smartphone market. We saw the usual flurry of new devices from the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung; we saw rumors and news stories about 5G devices, and we saw players such as Huawei, Xiaomi and OnePlus shake up the market, addressing consumer demands for lower priced devices, with more innovation.

For three years now, we’ve collected and analyzed data about the mobile device trade-in market. Each quarter, we publish our findings on the top traded devices, devices with the highest trade-in values, average ages of returned devices, money returned to consumers through trade-in programs, and more.

Today, telecom operators aren’t just connectivity providers—the advent of quad play services means that along with internet access and wireless services, they’re also providing TV and mobile phone offerings.

The average consumer will keep a smartphone for nearly 3 years before upgrading to a new device. But that still means that you’re investing hundreds of (or even more than a thousand) dollars in new devices every few years. Even with lease programs and equipment installment plans, that’s a significant cost.

Five or ten years ago, the thought that employees would use their personal iPhones and Android devices for work was enough to terrify business leaders. And yet, the rise of bring your own device (BYOD) policies was inevitable.

The point of mobile device upgrade is an exciting time for a consumer. It means no longer having to put up with an old smartphone that is slow, has a battery life of about three hours, and displays the dreaded ‘storage full’ message every time they go to take a picture, or download a song.

Even though we spend hundreds (or, eventually, thousands) of dollars on smartphones, we inevitably replace them two to four years later.