Telecom Lead Asia: 4G / LTE connections accounted for 14 percent of global mobile data traffic in 2012, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2012 to 2017.
By 2017, 4G connections will account for 45 percent of mobile data traffic.
In 2012, the average 4G connection generated 2.1 gigabytes of mobile data traffic per month, which is 19 times the 0.110 gigabytes/month for the average non-4G connection.
By 2017, 4G traffic will grow 40-fold, a 109 percent CAGR.
In 2012, 2G supported 76 percent of global mobile devices/M2M connections; 3G supported 23 percent; and 4G supported 1 percent.
By 2017, 2G networks will support 33 percent of global mobile devices/M2M connections; 3G networks will support 57 percent; and 4G networks will support 10 percent.
Smartphones, laptops, and tablets will drive 93 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2017.
The projected 2012 to 2017 global mobile data traffic increase represents a CAGR of 66 percent.
In terms of mobile data traffic generation, the Asia-Pacific region is projected to generate the most mobile data traffic.
During 2012-2017, Cisco anticipates that mobile data traffic will outpace fixed data traffic by a factor of three.
M2M traffic such as GPS systems in cars, asset tracking systems, medical applications, etc. will represent 5 percent of 2017 mobile data traffic.
Basic handsets will account for the remaining 2 percent of mobile data traffic in 2017.
In 2012, 14 percent of all mobile-connected devices/connections (1 billion) were IPv6-capable.
By 2017, 41 percent of all mobile-connected devices/connections (4.2 billion) will be IPv6-capable.
By 2017, there will be 5.2 billion mobile users (up from 4.3 billion in 2012).
By 2017, there will be more than 10 billion mobile devices/connections, including more than 1.7 billion M2M connections (up from 7 billion total mobile devices and M2M connections in 2012).
Average mobile network speeds will increase seven-fold from 2012 (0.5 Mbps) to 2017 (3.9 Mbps).
By 2017, mobile video will represent 66 percent of mobile data traffic (up from 51 percent in 2012).
In 2012, 33 percent of total mobile data traffic was offloaded (428 petabytes/month).
By 2017, 46 percent of total mobile data traffic will be offloaded (9.6 exabytes/month).
In terms of mobile data traffic growth rates over the forecast period, the Middle East and Africa region is projected to have the highest regional growth rate.
Below is how each of the regions ranks in terms of growth rate by 2017:
The Middle East and Africa: 77 percent CAGR (17.3-fold growth)
Asia-Pacific: 76 percent CAGR (16.9-fold growth)
Latin America: 67 percent CAGR (13.2-fold growth)
Central and Eastern Europe: 66 percent CAGR (12.8-fold growth)
North America: 56 percent CAGR (9.4-fold growth)
Western Europe: 50 percent CAGR (7.6-fold growth)
