Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 10, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Global data traffic will grow from 44,487 terabytes to 1.8 exabytes per month by 2017. The consumption of video files is regarded as a main driver of that growth. Users are expected to access around 1.3 exabytes of video data in 2017, accounting for almost three quarters of total mobile broadband data traffic. Coda Research reached this conclusion in its recently published report on the development of worldwide mobile broadband data traffic, “Mobile Broadband Traffic Across Regions 2009-2017”. “Dissatisfaction among mobile broadband customers will increase in the medium term because network capacities must be adjusted,” says Steve Smith, founder and CEO of Coda Research. Three quarters of users in Western Europe are already dissatisfied with the transmission speeds achievable in practice.
The widespread establishment of 4G wireless technology in the form of LTE networks was a premise underlying the study. The full expansion of fourth-generation mobile networks will take longer in Europe and the United States than originally forecast because of interim standards such as HSDPA+, although demonstrations and practical tests are already being conducted. In view of downlink rates of up to 173 megabits per second expected in the first expansion stage, applications such as HD video conferencing or HD video streams will also become interesting for users of mobile Internet devices. Although individual network operators are moving ahead and will begin expansion as early as 2010, experts generally expect market introductions lasting several years in Europe, North America and Asia.
According to Coda Research, around 80 percent of mobile data traffic in Europe and North America will be carried over LTE networks in 2017, while a share of 45 percent is expected in Asia. In general, however, the Asia-Pacific region, with an expected 53-percent share of worldwide video consumption, will be most responsible for the future explosion in data volume. Mobile broadband will often continue to be the only available connection technology for people living there. Unlike in industrialised countries, the institute believes network operators and providers in emerging countries must also prepare for greater illegal use of the video content made available.
