Global LTE net additions in the fourth quarter of 2014 exceeded 3G net additions for the first time ever, said Ericsson on Tuesday.
According to the Swedish equipment maker’s interim Mobility Report, LTE subscriptions increased by 110 million in the three months to 31 December to around 500 million, outstripping WCDMA/HSPA subscriptions, which grew by 65 million. Meanwhile, the number of 2G-only subscriptions fell by 65 million.
Looking ahead, Ericsson expects the number of LTE connections worldwide to swell by 3.1 billion by the end of 2020, while HSPA connections will increase by 2.3 billion. 60% of LTE additions in the 2015-2020 period will be in Asia-Pacific, while the remaining 40% will be split fairly evenly between the rest of the world (see chart).
It is perhaps unsurprising then that Asia-Pacific will generate 50% of smartphone data tr affic by the end of 2020, Ericsson predicted. However, average monthly smartphone data consumption per subscriber will be 3.2 GB. By comparison, it is expected to be 6 GB in the U.S. and 6.5 GB in Western Europe.
In terms of mobile data traffic, Ericsson said that in a given country, the top five most popular apps account for approximately two thirds of all app traffic.
In the U.S., for instance, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix, Instagram and Snapchat together generated 61% of app data traffic. In South Korea, the top five most popular apps – Facebook, peer-to-peer TV app AfreecaTV, YouTube, local search engine NAVER and the native Android browser – accounted for 67%.
"Video streaming and social networking prove by far the most popular apps in each country," said Ericsson.
Global mobile video traffic in particular is forecast to show growth of around 45% per year over the coming five years, accounting for 55% of mobile data traffic by 2020, Ericsson predicted.
