FORECAST FOR STEEP GROWTH IN MOBILE DATA TRAFFIC
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Mobile data traffic will grow 10 fold between 2011 and 2016, mainly driven by video. In its new Traffic and Market Data report, which provides insights into current trends, Ericsson forecasts a 10-fold increase in mobile data traffic by 2016. The report
Johan Wibergh, head of Ericsson Business Unit Networks, said that Ericsson undertakes a broad range of measurements in order to monitor the pulse of the networked society – measurements that the company uses to design products and plan networks. This report offers snapshots that, together, show how a growing number of people and businesses benefit from mobility, broadband and the cloud.
According to the report, mobile broadband subscriptions will reach almost 5 billion in 2016, up from the expected 900 million by the end of 2011.That would represent 60 per cent year-on-year growth, at the same time as the data consumed by smart phone users is surging. Total smart-phone traffic is expected to triple during 2011.
Across all devices, Internet access will continue to drive mobile traffic development and mobile data traffic is expected to grow by nearly 60 per cent per year between 2011 and 2016, mainly driven by video.
Moreover, by 2016 more than 30 per cent of the world’s population will live in metropolitan and urban areas with a density of more than 1,000 people per square kilometre. These areas represent less than 1 per cent of the Earth’s total land area, yet they are set to generate around 60 per cent of total mobile traffic.
Mobile broadband, new smart-phone launches and applications uptake will continue to drive data consumption. At the same time, there is strong momentum for smart-phone uptake in all regions. Ericsson expects traffic generated by advanced smart phones to increase 12-fold to roughly equal mobile PC-generated traffic by 2016.
