Video drives data demand

Video will continue to dominate mobile networks and is set to increase tenfold by 2020 to account for 55 per cent of all mobile data traffic, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility report. The report also predicts that by 2020, 90 per cent of the world's population over six years old will have a mobile phone. Smartphone subscriptions are expected to top 6.1 billion globally. In fact, India and China show the fastest growth for new mobile subscriptions with 18 million and 12 million net additions in Q3 2014 alone.

In 4G-dominated networks, mobile video currently constitutes 45-55 per cent of traffic, driven largely by increased usage of video streaming. Video is increasingly appearing as part of other online applications such as news and adverts, and on social media platforms. At the same time, growth in video streaming is being driven by access to over-the-top (OTT) services and content, such as those provided by YouTube.

Smartphone growth continues - 65-70 per cent of all phones sold in the third quarter of 2014 were smartphones, compared with 55 percent in the same quarter for 2013. Smartphones currently account for just 37 per cent of all mobile phone subscriptions, meaning that many users have yet to make the switch to the more feature-rich, internet-friendly option.