NEW YORK: About 4.6 billion people have mobile phones out of a world population of 6.6 billion, according to a new mobile report by Ericsson Ericsson.
Mobile subscriptions have increased by 800 million in 2014 worldwide while bringing the total number of devices to 2.7 billion.
With an increase in users, mobile data traffic is also expected to increase. Ericsson predicts mobile video will make up 55% of mobile data traffic by 2020.
Executive editor of the Ericsson Mobility Report Patrick Cerwall said the study shows 90% of the world’s population over the age of six will have a mobile phone by 2020, CBC news reported.
“So the report really talks about the connected world where everyone will have a connection one way or another,” he said.
Although a lot of new subscriptions are generated in developing countries, are single users buying and using multiple devices at once, a trend that is growing as the user experience becomes more ubiquitous.
In March 2014, Gartner predicted a dip in the uptake of tablets as the market becomes saturated, and PC shipments have continued a downward trend as consumers move on to other devices. This increase in data usage will make advancements in technology such as 5G increasingly important, as more demand is put on mobile networks.
“We believe commercially available 5G networks and terminals will start to pick up around 2020,” said Cerwall. “If we are moving towards a networked society, 5G is all about embracing that.”
There has recently been an investment in the development of 5G networks, with Huawei planning to invest $5m in the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre (5GIC), alongside other supporters of the project.
