As mobile broadband continues to drive subscription growth across all regions, Ericsson has predicted in its Ericsson Mobility, June 2017 report that on the average more than one million new mobile broadband subscribers will be added each day up to the end of 2022 and with approximately 25 per cent year-on-year growth, increasing by about 240 million in Q1 2017 alone, the total number of mobile broadband subscriptions is now around 4.6 billion. This is according to Ericsson Mobility, June 2017 report.
“Mobile subscriptions are growing at around 4 per cent year-on-year, reaching 7.6 billion in Q1. India grew the most in terms of net additions during the quarter (+43 million), followed by China (+24 million), Indonesia (+10 million), Pakistan (+5 million) and Nigeria (+3 million)”.
Accordingly, while connections continue to rise, LTE subscriptions reached 2.1 billion with 250 million new subscriptions in Q1 2017 where 5G subscription is expected to exceed half a million by the end of 2022.
Mobile traffic continues to grow exponentially across the globe, the report states that a 70 per cent growth was seen between Q1 2016 and Q1 of 2017, while video will account for about 75 per cent of mobile data traffic by 2022, more than 90 per cent of this traffic will come from smart phones.
The report which continues to forecast growth of mobile technology including IoT connections and LTE also explores how the unconnected can be cost effectively connected by leveraging existing mobile infrastructure.
According to the report, as more radio base stations are deployed, the world’s mobile network population coverage continues to increase. “At the current trajectory, mobile broadband will provide network coverage to around 95 per cent of the world’s population by 2022. To address the very low average revenue per user (ARPU) customer segments, expansion of network coverage requires CAPEX and OPEX-efficient solutions. Telecom operators, vendors, governments and regulators should continue to address affordability and uptake of services usage in parallel with mobile broadband technology deployment by: Developing cost/benefit-based business models targeting urban and rural areas; Nurturing ecosystems for local apps and content development in local languages; Prioritizing development of ICT literacy and skills. The main barrier to internet access will not be the availability of network technology, but rather illiteracy, affordability and perceived relevance of digital services.”
