14 DAY TRIAL // Research firm ABI Research has recently published a report on the mobile data traffic, showing an impressive growth in usage compared to the current levels. According to the firm, the mobile data traffic registered per month by 2014 will exceed the total data traffic registered during the entire 2008. The report takes into consideration both the sent and received data traffic.
“When people think of mobile data they think of BlackBerry and iPhone handsets,” says senior analyst Jeff Orr. “But the bulk of today's traffic is generated by laptops with PC Card and USB modems.” Last year, add-on cellular modems accounted for two thirds of the total data traffic, yet it has been forecast that computers with included 3G/4G modems will account for more than half of the traffic by 2014.
The new study from ABI Research shows that in 2008 the mobile data traffic around the world topped 1.3 Exabytes, while the amount is expected to reach an average of 1.6 Exabytes per month by 2014. In addition, the research firm also shows that video streaming is one of the IP traffic types that will see the most impressive growth.
Other findings include the fact that around 74 percent of the global mobile data traffic by 2014 will come from Web and Internet access, while 26 percent will come from audio and video streaming. Less than 1 percent of the data traffic will come from peer-to-peer file sharing and VoIP. While in 2008 Western Europe accounted for 31 percent of the traffic, Asia-Pacific is expected to take the lead by 2014, with more than 28 percent.
“The launch of 4G services promises even more data capability - full multimedia on a greater number of devices,” Orr notes. “But it's a more pragmatic approach than 3G's: data-centric devices will be adopted first, rather than a large number of phones. As network coverage and service plans satisfy market expectations, a variety of specialized consumer electronics devices with the ability to connect anywhere will emerge.”