Global Mobile Traffic to Increase 66 Times in Five Years

Published on: 10th February 2009

Cisco has published the details of its Visual Networking Index (VNI) Mobile Forecast for 2008-2013, providing key findings on a variety of Internet Protocol (IP) networking trends driven largely by the increased use of mobile broadband applications.

The Cisco VNI Mobile Forecast projects global mobile traffic to increase 66-fold between 2008 and 2013 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 131 percent over that same period. These projections reflect a transformation in the fourth-generation, or 4G, mobile Internet that will enable consumers to view more mobile video and access a variety of mobile broadband services.

Additional key findings from the Cisco VNI Mobile Forecast:

• Global mobile traffic will exceed two exabytes per month by 2013.
• Global mobile data traffic reached one exabyte per month in half the time that fixed data traffic did.
• Nearly 64 percent of the world's mobile traffic will be video by 2013.
• Mobile video will grow at a CAGR of 150 percent between 2008 and 2013.
• Mobile broadband handsets with higher than 3G speeds and laptop air or data cards will constitute more than 80 percent of global mobile traffic by 2013.
• Latin America will have the strongest mobile growth at 166 percent CAGR, followed by the Asia-Pacific region at 146 percent.
• Asia-Pacific will account for one-third of all mobile data traffic by 2013.

"The Cisco Visual Networking Index Mobile Forecast findings reflect the trend that consumers will use a variety of services, applications and devices to drive an increase in mobile traffic we're predicting," said Suraj Shetty, vice president of service provider marketing, Cisco. "The evolving 4G mobile Internet transformation is further diversifying how people access and experience the Internet and is causing an undeniable surge in bandwidth growth."

"The projected increase in mobile rich media points to the inevitable transition to 4G. This will shift the industry's focus toward all-IP networks," Shetty added.

Cisco has created a free mobile application: Cisco Global Internet Speed Test (GIST) for iPhone and BlackBerry Storm devices. This utility program allows users to measure their network speeds over Wi-Fi or cellular networks (as applicable), based on location and time of test. Users of this new application can quickly understand what their phone is capable of doing at any given time. This application also enables users to compare their network speeds with other iPhone and BlackBerry Storm users around the world and contributes to a broader understanding of evolving mobile data usage trends.

The beta version of the Cisco GIST for BlackBerry Storm application is available now.

Click on images to enlarge

Global Mobile Data Traffic

 

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