Gartner predicts 59% worldwide growth in mobile data

 

Mobile data expected to reach 52 million terabytes

Gartner, a world leader in technology research and advice, estimates that global mobile data traffic is expected to reach 52 million Terabytes (TB) in 2015, an increase of 59% compared to last year. The accelerated growth will continue until 2018, when levels could reach 173 million Terabytes.
 
Gartner analysts advise Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to reconsider their mobile data limits to satisfy customer needs and gain market share. "Traffic is increasing worldwide, and will more than triple by 2018. Fast new mobile data connections (3G and 4G) will grow more slowly – from 3.8 billion in 2015 to 5.1 billion in 2018," he says. Jessica Ekholm, Research Director at Gartner.
 
In Q3 2014, Gartner conducted a survey of mobile apps and asked 1,000 smartphone users in the United States and 1,000 in Germany about their mobile app usage habits. "The two countries have mature and distinct markets, from which we can make good comparisons on CSP strategies and their impact on overall consumer behavior," says Ekholm.
 
When asked if they wait until they get to an area with Wi-Fi to download an app or watch streaming video content, 54% of Germans answered yes, against only 36% of American respondents. This is because 43% of US users feel less constrained by their data plans, while only 20% of German users report the same.
 
More data cap and more time on YouTube
 
According to Gartner, CSPs should create and sell data plans with higher caps to increase their share of the expanding market. "With the percentage of video usage rising from 50% today to 60% of total data usage by 2018, we should expect CSPs to deliver the best possible video experience to their customers. This includes using video optimization technologies and training." of content closer to the consumer,” says Jessica Ekholm, Research Director at Gartner.
 
The survey also showed that families with children are boosting the use of video on mobile phones, a fact reinforced by CSPs, which provide plans with data sharing available between devices. Streaming videos on cellular networks is not just for children and young people. The opposite is true: in the United States, 47% of adults between the ages of 45 and 54 watch 15 minutes or more of videos in mobile applications by transmission on cellular networks with each access, while only 40% of young people between 18 and 24 years old do the same.
 
"Results also showed that YouTube is increasingly used to watch streaming videos for longer periods of time, rather than just for short breaks," says Gartner's Director of Research. There is a slight difference between the percentage of US smartphone users who use YouTube for less than five minutes and those who use the channel for 30 minutes or more.
 
"The key to achieving long-term revenue growth for CSPs is how to efficiently market and sell more expensive data plans with high or unlimited data caps to their customers. The evidence is in the fact that once customers purchase a larger plan, their usage habits change significantly, resulting in benefits for CSPs. This highlights the accumulated demand, and an opportunity for CSPs that can create the right package", concludes the director.