TORONTO, June 1, 2016 /CNW/ -
- 16 billion connected devices forecast to join the Internet of
Things by the end of 2021
- Smartphone subscriptions to surpass those for basic phones in
Q3 this year
- Teenage use of cellular data for smartphone video grew 127
percent in just 15 months
The latest edition of the Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) Mobility
Report, published today, reveals that the Internet of Things (IoT)
is set to overtake mobile phones as the largest category of
connected device by 2018.
Between 2015 and 2021, the number of IoT connected devices is
expected to grow 23 percent annually, of which cellular IoT is
forecast to have the highest growth rate. Of the 28 billion total
devices that will be connected by 2021, close to 16 billion will be
IoT devices.
Western Europe will lead the
way in adding IoT connections – the number of IoT devices in this
market is projected to grow 400 percent by 2021. This will
principally be driven by regulatory requirements, for example for
intelligent utility meters, and a growing demand for connected cars
including the EU e-call directive to be implemented in 2018.
Rima Qureshi, Senior Vice
President & Chief Strategy Officer, Ericsson, says: "IoT is now
accelerating as device costs fall and innovative applications
emerge. From 2020, commercial deployment of 5G networks will
provide additional capabilities that are critical for IoT, such as
network slicing and the capacity to connect exponentially more
devices than is possible today."
Smartphone subscriptions continue to increase and are forecast
to surpass those for basic phones in Q3 this year. By 2021,
smartphone subscriptions will almost double from 3.4 billion to 6.3
billion. Also revealed in the report, there are now 5 billion
mobile subscribers – unique users – in the world today, which is
testament to the phenomenal growth of mobile technology in a
relatively short period of time.
Detailed in the report is a dramatic shift in teen viewing
habits: use of cellular data for smartphone video grew 127 percent
in just 15 months (2014-15). Over a period of four years (2011-15)
there has been a 50 percent drop in the time teens spend watching
TV/video on a TV screen, and in contrast an 85 percent increase in
those viewing TV/video on a smartphone. This, and the fact that the
upcoming generation of mobile users are the heaviest consumers of
data for smartphone video streaming (Wi-Fi and cellular combined),
makes them the most important group for cellular operators to
monitor.
In 2016, a long anticipated milestone is being passed with
commercial LTE networks supporting downlink peak data speeds of 1
Gbps. Devices that support 1 Gbps are expected in the second half
of 2016, initially in markets such as Japan, US, South
Korea and China, but
rapidly spreading to other regions. Mobile users will enjoy
extremely fast time to content thanks to this enhanced technology,
which will enable up to two thirds faster download speeds compared
with the fastest technology available today.
Further highlights from the Ericsson Mobility Report
include:
A global growth story: mobile broadband subscriptions
will grow fourfold in the Middle
East and Africa between
2015 and 2021; mobile data traffic in India will grow fifteen times by 2021; and
despite being the most mature market, US mobile traffic will grow
50 percent in 2016 alone.
Data traffic continues unabated growth: global mobile
data traffic grew 60 percent between Q1 2015 and Q1 2016, due to
rising numbers of smartphone subscriptions and increasing data
consumption per subscriber. By the end of 2021, around 90 percent
of mobile data traffic will be from smartphones.
LTE subscriptions grew at a high rate during Q1 2016:
there were 150 million new subscriptions during the quarter –
driven by demand for improved user experience and faster networks –
reaching a total of 1.2 billion worldwide. LTE peak data speeds of
1 Gbps are anticipated to be commercially available in 2016.
Additional spectrum harmonization needed between countries
planning early 5G deployment: 5G is expected to start more
quickly than anticipated, and spectrum harmonization is needed
between countries planning early roll-outs. This is in addition to
the current process for WRC-19, which focuses on spectrum for
commercial 5G deployments beyond 2020.
The Ericsson Mobility Report is one of the leading analyses of
mobile data traffic available, providing in-depth measurements from
live networks spread around the globe. The report uses these
measurements and analysis, together with internal forecasts and
other relevant studies, to provide insights into current traffic
and market trends in the Networked Society.
The Traffic Exploration Tool, which accompanies the report, can
be used to create customized graphs and tables. The information can
be filtered by region, subscription, technology, traffic and device
type.
The report defines a connected device as a physical object that
has an IP stack enabling two-way communication over a network
interface.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The full Ericsson Mobility Report, Traffic Exploration Tool and
regional reports for South East
Asia & Oceania, North East Asia, North America and India can be downloaded at
www.ericsson.com/mobility-report
Biography and photos of Rima
Qureshi
For media kits, backgrounders and high-resolution photos, please
visit www.ericsson.com/press
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