Mobile data traffic in India will grow 13-fold in 5 years: Cisco

In India, mobile data traffic will grow 13-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 67 percent, according to Cisco’s ‘VNI Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast’ report. Indian mobile data traffic will grow 2 times faster than Indian fixed IP traffic from 2014 to 2019, the report said. The mobile data traffic will account for 28 percent of Indian fixed and mobile data traffic by 2019, up from 9 percent in 2014. [caption id=“attachment_2012129” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Mobile data traffic by 2019 will be equivalent to 3163x the volume of Indian mobile traffic ten years earlier (in 2009). In India, 51 percent of mobile connections will be ‘smart’ connections by 2019, up from 8 percent in 2014. And, 89 percent of mobile data traffic will be ‘smart’ traffic by 2019, up from 43 percent in 2014. “The worldwide shift from basic-feature phones to smartphones – combined with the continued growth in tablets, a resurgence in laptops with tablet-like capabilities as well as expanding machine-to-machine (M2M) applications – are key factors supporting the increasing smart traffic trend.” There will be 895.6 million (67 percent of India’s population) mobile users by 2019, up from 590.3 million in 2014, a CAGR of 8.7 percent. In 2014, India’s business mobile data traffic grew 1.6-fold, or 59 percent; and is expected to grow 12.2-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 65 percent. Business will account for 10 percent of India’s mobile data traffic by 2019. In India, smartphone mobile data traffic will grow 20.8-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 83 percent. And, smartphones will account for 76 percent of total mobile data traffic by 2019, compared to 48 percent at the end of 2014. Laptop mobile data traffic will grow 4.6-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent. The device will account for 3 percent of total mobile data traffic by 2019. While, tablet mobile data traffic will grow 75.4-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 137 percent. It will account for 12 percent of total mobile data traffic by 2019. In India, in 2014 the average 4G speed was 5,575 kbps, the average 3G speed was 1,396 kbps, and the average 2G speed was 70 kbps. By 2019, the average 4G speed will be 8,978 kbps, the average 3G speed will be 3,394 kbps, and the average 2G speed will be 116 kbps. The average 3G speed will grow 2.4-fold (19 percent CAGR) from 2014 to 2019, reaching 3,394 kbps by 2019. In India, 4G will account for 38.2 percent of total mobile data traffic by 2019, compared to 3.1 percent at the end of 2014. 4G traffic will grow 160-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 176 percent. In India, the number of smartphones grew 54 percent during 2014, reaching 140 million in number; and is expected to grow 4.7-fold between 2014 and 2019, reaching 651 million in number. The number of mobile-connected tablets grew 1.7-fold during 2014, reaching 2. million in number. It will grow 9.2-fold between 2014 and 2019, reaching 18.7 million in number. Wearable devices will reach 5.9 million in number by 2019, up from 1.4 million in 2014, a compound annual growth rate of 34 percent. Traffic from wearable devices will grow 16-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 73 percent. M2M traffic will grow 42-fold from 2014 to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 112 percent. In India, the number of mobile-connected M2M modules grew 1.5-fold or 48 percent in 2014, reaching 7 million in number. The number will grow 6.9-fold between 2014 and 2019.