AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Feb 26, 2013) - iGR's latest research forecasts an 11 times growth in global mobile data traffic from 889,000 terabytes per month in 2012 to 10.3 million terabytes per month in 2017. This forecast is for mobile data networks, including 3G and 4G LTE, but does not include WiFi traffic offloaded from the macro network.
iGR's mobile data traffic model estimates the amount of bandwidth consumed by a given activity -- e.g., checking email, listening to streaming music or watching streaming video, checking social sites, etc. iGR has estimated the traffic generated on a per application/use basis along with a forecast for how many times in a given time period an end user engages in the given activity. iGR has prepared a data traffic model for each region of the world -- North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Inputs for the traffic model are taken from iGR's extensive end user behavior data.
To create the traffic forecast, iGR built usage profiles based on our primary and secondary consumer and enterprise research over the past several years. We divided connections into four different categories: light, medium, heavy and extreme. A connection corresponds to a device and connections can exceed subscribers. For example, a consumer in North America might have three devices -- a smartphone, laptop and a tablet.
In 2012, 9.25 percent of North American connections were extreme, while 71.5 percent were either medium or heavy. However, in 2017, it is expected that only 4.9 percent of users will be extreme, and 85.5 percent will be medium or heavy. Similarly, the number of light users in North America decreased from 19.2 percent in 2012 to 9.6 percent in 2017.
"These number show that the North American mobile data market is shifting away from a few subscribers using a lot of data to a lot of subscribers using a lot of data," said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile industry. "Similar shifts are also forecasted for the other mature markets worldwide."
iGR's new market research report, Global Mobile Data Forecast, 2012-2017: The Rise Continues, provides detail on the expected growth of mobile data traffic for each region of the world -- North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East & Africa -- from 2012 through 2017.
The following key questions are addressed in the new research study:
- What consists of mobile data traffic?
- What is mobile data usage like today?
- How does mobile data usage change over the forecast period?
- What are the drivers of mobile data traffic growth?
- What are some differences in mobile data use by geographic region?
The information in this report will be valuable for:
- Mobile operators
- Device OEMs
- Content providers and distributors
- Financial analysts and investors.
The report can be purchased and downloaded directly from iGR's website at www.iGR-inc.com. Alternatively, contact Iain Gillott at (512) 263-5682 or at Iain@iGR-inc.com for additional details.
About iGR
iGR is a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry. Founded by Iain Gillott, one of the wireless industry's leading analysts, in late 2000 as iGillottResearch, iGR is now entering its thirteenth year of operation. iGR continuously researches emerging and existent technologies, technology industries, and consumer markets. We use our detailed research to offer a range of services to help companies improve their position in the marketplace, clearly define their future direction, and ultimately improve their bottom line.
iGR researches a range of wireless and mobile products and technologies, including: smartphones; tablets; mobile applications; bandwidth demand and use; small cell architectures; DAS; LTE; VoLTE; IMS; NFC; GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSPA; CDMA 1x/EV-DO; iDEN; SIP; macro-, pico- and femtocells; mobile backhaul; WiFi and WiFi offload; and SIM and UICC.
A more complete profile of the company can be found at www.igr-inc.com.
Contact Information:
Contact iGR
Iain Gillott
(512) 263-5682