Global mobile data traffic will increase nearly tenfold between 2014 and 2019 to reach 24.3 exabytes per month by 2019, according to the latest update of the Cisco Visual Networking Index.
The report also forecasts that there will be 11.5 billion mobile-connected devices by 2019 including M2M modules – exceeding the world’s projected population at that time (7.6 billion). In 2014, the number of global mobile devices and connections grew to 7.4 billion, up from 6.9 billion in 2013. Smartphones accounted for 88% of that growth, with 439 million net additions in 2014.
The average mobile network connection speed was 1.7 Mbps in 2014 and is expected to reach nearly 4 Mbps by 2019. By 2016, average mobile network connection speed will surpass 2 Mbps.
Also by 2019, 4G is expected to account for 26% of connections but 68% of total traffic. By 2019, a 4G connection will generate 10 times more traffic on average than a non-4G connection, the report predicts.
In terms of the different global regions, the Asia Pacific and North America regions will account for a little over half of global mobile traffic by 2019. Middle East and Africa will experience the highest CAGR of 72%, increasing 15-fold over the forecast period. Central and Eastern Europe will have the second highest CAGR of 71%, increasing 14-fold over the forecast period . Latin America and Asia Pacific will have CAGRs of 59% and 58%, respectively.
The report also predicts that more traffic will be offloaded from cellular networks on to Wi-Fi than remains on cellular networks by 2016. By 2016, more than half of all traffic from mobile-connected devices (almost 14 exabytes) will be offloaded to the fixed network by means of Wi-Fi devices and femtocells each month. Without Wi-Fi and femtocell offload, total mobile data traffic would grow at a CAGR of 62% between 2014 and 2019, instead of the projected CAGR of 57%.
For more statistics on mobile data developments in 2014 and forecasts through to 2019, you can read the Cisco Visual Networking Index here.
