Total mobile data traffic continues to increase globally and is predicted to reach 131 exabytes (EB) per month by the end of 2024. This means a 30 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2018 and 2024. This is slightly lower than previously reported and comes as a result of the strong growth seen in 2018. highest mobile data usage

Smartphones continue to generate most of the mobile data traffic – close to 90 percent today and projected to reach 95 percent at the end of 2024. In this forecast period, this means that only new or evolved smartphone-based services are likely to have the ability to significantly affect the global traffic growth curve, Ericsson reports.

India has the highest average monthly usage, reaching 9.8 gigabytes (GB) by the end of 2018. Increased numbers of LTE subscriptions, attractive data plans being offered by service providers and young people’s changing video viewing habits have driven monthly usage growth.

Triggered by Reliance Jio’s entry in September 2016, India’s data consumption has exploded, with all other operators also offering cheap data tariffs. Mobile data traffic is growing as more Indians spend time streaming videos, which is expected to account for 75% of overall mobile traffic by 2024.

The report predicts that total mobile data traffic per month will grow at a CAGR of 23% from 4.6 exabytes in 2018 to 16 exabytes in 2024. Smartphone user base in India will reach 1.1 billion by 2024, whereas mobile broadband subscriptions are expected to grow from about 610 million in 2018 to 1.25 billion in 2024.

In North East Asia, traffic per smartphone also grew strongly during 2018, and the region has the second-highest monthly usage, averaging 7.1GB. Attractive data plans, as well as innovative mobile apps and content, have pushed up monthly mobile data usage, particularly in China.

The Middle East and Africa region is expected to have the highest growth rate during the forecast period, growing total mobile data traffic by eight times between 2018 and 2024. Smartphone subscriptions are projected to almost double, increasing penetration from 46 to 63 percent of all mobile subscriptions. In 2024, total monthly mobile data traffic is expected to reach 15EB in the region.

In Latin America, traffic is predicted to increase by a factor of 6 between 2018 and 2024, taking it to 8.9EB per month. The traffic growth is driven by broader coverage and adoption of LTE within the region, linked with a 16 percent rise in smartphone subscriptions and increases in average data usage per smartphone from 3.1GB to 18GB per month. highest mobile data usage