Totalling 9.8 gigabytes (GB) per month at the end of 2018, India has the highest average usage per smartphone, thanks to the 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. This data was revealed by a report from Swedish telecommunications giant Ericsson.
The report also predicts that the total mobile data traffic per month in India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 23 per cent from 4.6 exabytes (EB) in 2018 to 16EB by 2024. The total smartphone subscriptions in the region will reach 1.1 billion by 2024 growing at 11 per cent CAGR, whereas the total mobile broadband subscriptions in India are expected to grow at CAGR of 13 per cent from about 610 million in 2018 to 1.25 billion in 2024. Mobile broadband technologies now make up more than 50 per cent of subscriptions.
In India, the LTE is forecast to represent 82 per cent of mobile subscriptions by the end of 2024 compared to 38 per cent in 2018. The LTE subscriptions in India are expected to grow at a CAGR of 17 per cent from 450 million in 2018 to 1.16 Billion in 2024. Video will continue to drive data usage and the monthly data usage per smartphone has increased from 9.8 GB in 2018 to 18 GB by 2024 growing at 11 percent CAGR.
Mobile video traffic is fuelling the total data traffic as users are spending more time streaming and sharing video. This is expected to continue, as video is embedded in all types of online content. In addition, surveys of smartphone users worldwide indicate that they expect 5G to bring the network performance needed for immersive media formats and applications. Streaming 360-degree video and augmented/virtual reality should start to be a significant factor in mobile traffic growth while enhancing user experience as 5G is rolled out, and compatible devices are successively introduced.
The Ericsson 5G Consumer Potential study also reveals that one in five smartphone users’ data usage could reach more than 145 GB per month on a 5G device by 2025. Globally, 5G uptake will be faster than expected.
The June 2019 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report forecasts 1.9 billion 5G subscriptions, up from 1.5 billion forecasted in the November 2018 edition -- an increase of almost 27 per cent.
Other forecasts have also increased notably as a result of the rapid 5G uptake. 5G coverage is forecast to reach 45 per cent of the world’s population by end of 2024. This could surge to 65 per cent, as spectrum sharing technology enables 5G deployments on LTE frequency bands.
The total mobile data traffic continued to soar globally in Q1 2019, up 82 per cent year-on-year. It is predicted to reach 131EB per month by the end of 2024, at which time 35 per cent is projected to be over 5G networks. There are over one billion cellular IoT connections globally, a figure that is expected to rise to 4.1 billion by the end of 2024, of which 45 per cent are represented by Massive IoT. Industries using Massive IoT include utilities with smart metering, healthcare in the form of medical wearables, and transport with tracking sensors.
