Mobile data
A Mass Wave of Mobile Adoption
By 2019, there will be 5.2 billion mobile users (up from 4.3 billion in 2014). In 2014, nearly 59% of the world’s population (7.2 billion people) was made up of mobile users; by 2019, more than 69% of the world’s population (7.6 billion people) will be mobile users.
A Rising Tide of Mobile Connections
By 2019, there will be approximately 11.5 billion mobile-ready devices/connections, including 8.3 billion personal mobile devices and 3.2 billion machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, up from 7.4 billion total mobile-ready devices and M2M connections in 2014.
A Need for Mobile Speed
Average global mobile network speeds will increase by a factor of 2.4 from 2014 (1.7M bps) to 2019 (4M bps). By 2019, mobile video will represent 72% of global mobile data traffic (up from 55% in 2014).
Exabytes Upon Exabytes of Mobile Data
Global mobile data traffic will reach an annual run rate of 292 exabytes by 2019, up from 30 exabytes in 2014. Last year, 46% of total mobile data traffic was offloaded to, for example, WiFi networks; by 2019, 54% of total mobile data traffic will be offloaded.
The Cloud Makes a Major Mobile Impact
Mobile cloud traffic will grow nearly elevenfold from 2014 (2 exabytes/month) to 2019 (21.8 exabytes/month). In 2014, cloud applications accounted for 81% of total mobile data traffic; by 2019, cloud apps will account for 90% of total mobile data traffic.
4G Networks Hit the Mainstream Airwaves
By 2019, 26% of all global devices and connections will be 4G capable. The number of 4G connections globally will grow eighteenfold, from 459 million in 2014 to 3 billion by 2019.
More Bandwidth Equals More Consumption
In 2014, 4G connections accounted for 40% of total mobile data traffic; by 2019, 4G connections will account for 68% of total mobile data traffic. In 2014, the average 4G connection generated 2.2GB of mobile data traffic per month; by 2019, the average 4G connection will generate 5.5GB of mobile data traffic per month.
The Rise of Wearable Devices
The number of wearable devices globally will grow fivefold, reaching 578 million by 2019, up from 109 million in 2014. This is expected to fuel eighteenfold growth in mobile traffic from wearable devices between 2014 and 2019, with most of it channeled through smartphones. In 2014, the average wearable device generated 6X more traffic per month than a basic handset.