Mobile Data Traffic to Grow 10-Fold by 2016

In its new Ericsson Traffic and Market Data report, Ericsson forecasts that there will be five billion mobile devices that will increase mobile data traffic ten times by 2016. The report is based on measurements the company recorded over several years in 1000 live networks covering all regions of the world. According to the report, compared with last year, mobile broadband subscriptions grew by 60 percent and number of smartphones owners has increased by three times. Ericsson also forecast that internet access will continue to drive mobile traffic development and mobile data traffic in next five years, mainly driven by video. Report forecast that by 2016 more than 30 percent of the world’s population will live in metropolitan and urban areas with a density of more than 1,000 people per square kilometer. These areas represent less than 1 percent of the Earth’s total land area, yet they are set to generate around 60 percent of total mobile traffic.