Global Smartphone Traffic to Increase 8x by 2020

Global smartphone data traffic is expected to explode in the next few years. According to Ericsson's latest mobility report, global smartphone traffic is set to grow from 2.1 exabyte per month this year to around 17 exabyte in 2020. The jump in data consumption will be sparked by a 130% increase the number of smartphone subscriptions on the one hand and by growing individual data consumption on the other hand.

On average, smartphone subscribers are predicted to use 3.5 gigabytes of data per months in 2020, up from an average of 900 megabytes in 2014. It needs to be noted though, that data consumption varies widely across different markets. Smartphone users in highly developed markets such as North America and Western Europe typically use more data, as faster networks enable them to carry out more traffic-intensive activities such as watching video.