Mobile Data Usage Doubles From Last Year

The doubling factor is actually streaming video, which is also expected to push data usage to grow 12 times that number over the next six years, says Ericsson, adding that 25% of all smartphone data and 40% of all tablet data are spent on streaming video.

 

  • Streaming video is the main growth driver
  • Smartphones take 40% of mobile phone sales
  • Mobile phone subscriptions to hit 6.6 billion by 2012-end

Mobile data usage continues to soar and has now doubled from last year. It is expected to have a compound annual growth of at least 50% every year through 2018, says Ericsson’s new Mobility Report for the third quarter of 2012.

The doubling factor is actually streaming video, which is also expected to push data usage to grow 12 times that number over the next six years, says Ericsson, adding that 25% of all smartphone data and 40% of all tablet data are spent on streaming video.

On mobile phone sales, the report says that 40% has been taken by smartphones during Q3 2012. This will in turn drive smartphone data usage to surpass the average usage from all other devices combined.

Total mobile phone subscriptions are projected to hit 6.6 billion by the end of 2012 and a target of 9.3 billion by 2018.

The Mobility Report also stated that the data and smartphone adoption rates were bolstered by strong LTE subscriptions during Q3 2012, with some 13 million users switching over to the high-powered network. LTE subscriptions are estimated to reach 55 million consumers by the end of this year and total 1.6 billion by 2018.

Ericsson projects WCDMA/HSPA networks to still cover more than half of all subscriptions, with 65 million more added during the last quarter.