Deloitte has shared its top telecom predictions for 2016.
Voice over WiFi and/or LTE is expected to be five times higher than at the start of 2015. 100 telecom network operators will be offering at least one packet-based voice service at the end of 2016, double the amount year-on-year, and six times higher than at the beginning of 2015.
Approximately 300 million customers will be using voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) and / or voice over LTE (VoLTE), double the number at the start of the year and five times higher than at the beginning of 2015.
There will be 10-fold increase in gigabit Internet to 10 million connections. 70 percent of gigabit Internet will come from residential connections. About 600 million subscribers may be on networks that offer a gigabit tariff as of 2020, representing the majority of connected homes in the world.
More than a quarter of customers will be data exclusive. About 26 percent of smartphone users in developed markets will not make any traditional phone calls in a given week in 2016.
Volume of used smartphones will grow 66 percent to become a $17 billion market. Consumers will sell outright or trade-in approximately 120 million used smartphones, generating more than $17 billion for their owners. Users traded 80 million smartphones in 2015 for $11 billion. 10 percent of premium smartphones ($500 or higher) purchased new in 2016 will end up having three or more owners before being retired.
Touch-based commerce on mobile devices is expected to increase 150 percent. The number of individuals who use a third party, touch-based payment service to make a purchase on their mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) should increase 150 percent to reach 50 million regular users in 2016.
