SAN JOSE — Mobile data traffic by 2022 will represent almost 20% of global IP traffic and will reach 930 exabytes (almost a zettabyte) annually, which is nearly 113 times more than all global mobile traffic generated just 10 years prior, in 2012, according to Cisco’s latest Mobile Visual Networking Index forecast.
According to this year’s forecast update (for 2017–2022), there will be more than 12 billion mobile-ready devices and IoT connections in 2022, up from about nine billion mobile-ready devices and IoT connections in 2017. Breaking down the 2022 figure, more than eight billion personal mobile devices and four billion IoT connections will be supported by mobile networks by the end of the forecast period, according to Cisco.
Cisco’s forecast update also anticipates ongoing efforts by mobile carriers around the world to enhance mobile network performance. The average global mobile network speeds will increase more than threefold from 8.7 Mbps (megabits per second) in 2017 to 28.5 Mbps by 2022, Cisco predicts. Average mobile speeds will vary significantly by geographic location as 5G adoption begins to ramp up in some regions, Cisco said.
By 2022, 5G connections will represent more than 3% of total mobile connections (more than 422 million global 5G devices and M2M connections) and will account for nearly 12% of global mobile data traffic, according to Cisco’s forecast update. In addition, Cisco predicts by 2022 the average 5G connection (22 GB per month) will generate about three times more traffic than the average 4G connection (8 GB per month).
In terms of mobile video traffic, Cisco predicts by 2022 mobile video will represent 79% of global mobile data traffic, up from 59% in 2017.
In its forecast update, Cisco also looked at trends regarding data traffic offload from mobile networks to fixed networks, such as WiFi. In 2017, monthly offload traffic (13 exabytes) exceeded monthly mobile/cellular traffic (12 exabytes). In 2017, 54% of total mobile data traffic was offloaded. By 2022, 59% of total mobile data traffic will be offloaded, according to Cisco.
“Cisco is committed to helping network operators meet the growing bandwidth needs of mobile consumers, business users and the diverse collection of IoT applications,” Jonathan Davidson, senior vice-president and general manager of Cisco’s service provider business, said in a company news release announcing its latest market forecast.
“As global mobile traffic approaches the zettabyte era, we believe that 5G and WiFi will coexist as necessary and complementary access technologies, offering key benefits to our enterprise and service provider customers to extend their architectures,” Davidson added.
To download Cisco’s Mobile Visual Networking Index (MVNI): Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update (2017–2022), click here. To drill down into the MVNI highlights by region and country, click here.
