Wired network comparted to Wireless networks
It might seem easy to compare the growth of the original, wired telephone network to the growth of wireless networks but that isn't the case. Cellular was possible only because a wired telephone network was already in place. Cellular would never have grown the way it did if no connection to the PSTN did not exist, all you would have is a business radio system or citizens' band radio, point to point communications, mobile to mobile customers, all operating within a small geographical area. Useful, but how could it grow beyond a certain point? So to compare the last 17 years of growth in commercial cellular to something else you might contrast it with other services offered during that time, like caller ID, call forwarding, three way calling, and so on. How many people signed up for those services compared to the installed telephone base? Then, how many people signed up for wireless during that time?
The problem is that these services are so dissimilar, and of such varying utility, that comparisons might not teach you anything. It might be more instructive to reach back to the Citizens' Band radio craze of the mid 1970's, to see how many radios were sold within just a few short years, that is, comparing the growth of personal communications back then and now. C.B. radios were wildly popular although they didn't connect to the telephone system unless someone manually patched a call. I've read Bell Labs literature stating that one in ten American vehicles had a two way radio during these years, why wireless folks were surprised by the growth in cellular I do not know. One reason of course was cost, with C.B. radios available at less than a hundred dollars, while cellular radios were well over a thousand. Too many things to research!