According to a new report, the monthly mobile traffic in the world will surpass 15 exabytes by 2018. Moreover, the mobile traffic in the Middle East and Africa is predicted to increase by 14 times over the next four years. That means that the region is about to witness the fastest rate of mobile data traffic growth in the world.
Mobile Predictions for MEA
That was revealed by Cisco’s Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2013-2018 report. According to the study, monthly mobile data traffic in the Middle East and Africa will hit nearly 1.5 exabytes in just four years. It calculated that this is equal to more than 370 DVDs. In addition, mobile data traffic in the region will increase faster than its fixed IP traffic. How much faster? Researchers have estimated that mobile traffic will growth rate will be 2 times bigger compared to that of fixed Internet traffic. Also, in just four years, smart traffic will make up 90% of all mobile traffic in the MAE region. In contrast, last year it was estimated at 76%.
The report explains that there are a few factors that push this growth in the Middle East and Africa. One of them is the fact that MAE’s adoption of Ipv6 (Internet Protocol version 6). Its compound annual growth rate amounts at 35%. In 2013, it was calculated at 133 million and it would probably reach nearly 600 million by 2018. Another factor influencing this trend is the rise of smart wearable gadgets in the region. They are expected to jump from the current 700,000 to 8 million in the next four years. This would result in a mobile data traffic rise of almost 40% by 2018.
4G connection in MEA will also increase in the near future. By 2018, it is predicted to rise by the staggering 83%. That is because the communications companies in the region are giving mobile data traffic an extra push by distributing ultrafast 4G mobile networks. In addition, they are transferring mobile data to small cell or Wi-Fi networks.
Global Mobile Predictions
The global mobile data traffic will also witness a growth in the next few years. However, it is predicted that it will be influenced by four different factors. The first is the rising amount of mobile users, which are expected to reach 4.9 billion by 2018. In addition to that, mobile web connections will also increase. For the period 2013-2018, they will rise by 3 billion. A jump in mobile video will also contribute to the tendency. Over the next four years, it is estimated to increase by 10%. Mobile users will be happy to hear that mobile speed will also rise. In 2013, it reached an average of 1.4 Mbps, while in 2018 it is predicted to be around 2.5 Mbps.
However, we would not have to wait until 2018 to witness and feel the rise of mobile technology and mobile traffic. According to the report, by the end of this year, the amount of mobile-connected devices in the world will be bigger than the global population. Therefore, by 2018, mobile-connected gadgets will amount to over 10 billion.
As it was mentioned earlier, mobile video will play an important role in the rise of mobile data traffic. That is due to the fact that more and more mobile users like to watch videos on their mobile devices. Nevertheless, the growth will not affect all other types of mobile traffic. For instance, it is predicted that there will be a decrease in mobile file sharing (1%), mobile audio streaming (3%), as well as mobile web and data apps (11%).
