Cellular data traffic keeps doubling every year Smartphones, tablets, and video ensure continued growth in mobile data.
by Jon Brodkin Feb 18 2013 Ars Technica
Worldwide mobile data traffic doubled over the past year and is expected to continue growing at a similar rate due to expanding smartphone sales and video traffic, telecom equipment maker Ericsson said in research released today.
By the end of 2012, global data traffic on mobile networks (not including Wi-Fi) hit around 1,300 petabytes per month, twice as much as in the previous year, Ericsson said.
The chart shows an approximate doubling each year for the past few years. We've asked Ericsson for the raw data behind the report and will provide that if we get it. Ericsson's measurements come from "a large base of commercial networks that together cover all regions of the world," the report states. "They form a representative base for calculating world total traffic in mobile networks."
Such measurements are not exact and have occasionally been contested. Predictions in particular can be difficult-Cisco's mobile data was recently revised to reflect a 64 percent year-over-year growth in North America instead of the 118 percent growth originally predicted. The CTIA Wireless Association reported a year-over-year doubling of wireless network traffic from July 2011 to June 2012, but a story in GigaOm said that tracking traffic over six-month periods reveals that growth slowed down dramatically toward the end of the year.
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