Ericsson Mobility Report said mobile subscriptions are expected to reach 9.3 billion by 2019, and more than 60 percent of these – 5.6 billion – will be for smartphones.
To support the smartphone user experience, WCDMA/HSPA networks are predicted to cover 90 percent of the world’s population by 2019.
Moreover, almost two-thirds (65 percent) of the world’s population will be covered by 4G/LTE networks.
Currently, smartphones represent 25-30 percent of all mobile phone subscriptions, yet they account for the majority (55 percent) of mobile phones sold in Q3.
Smartphone took more than five years to reach the first billion smartphone subscriptions, but it will take less than two to hit the 2 billion mark1. Between now and 2019, smartphone subscriptions will triple.
The growth will be driven by uptake in China and other emerging markets as lower-priced smartphone models become available.
Smartphone traffic will grow by 10 times between 2013 and 2019, reaching 10 exabytes. Video is growing 55 percent annually, and will represent more than 50 percent of the mobile data traffic, while social networking and web services will account for around 10 percent each in 2019.
Ericsson Mobility Report says radio signals attenuate rapidly as they go through buildings and the high concentration of users, building material and height all pose additional challenges.
Having good mobile coverage is an important aspect of life for many; it is now ranked among the top five satisfaction factors of life in a city. As the majority of mobile traffic originates from cities, Ericsson compares three different strategies to provide indoor coverage using simulation software to predict the extent of app coverage in high-rise buildings in this issue.
