India remains the region with the highest monthly data usage per smartphone, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report released on Tuesday. The total mobile data traffic is projected to triple to 21 EB (1 exabyte = 1,000 petabytes) per month in 2025.
Average monthly mobile data usage per smartphone continued to show robust growth, boosted by the rapid adoption of 4G.
“The spread of COVID-19 has prompted people all over the world to change their daily lives and, in many cases, work or study from home,” Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice-president and head of Networks at Ericsson, said in the report. “This has led to a rapid shift of network traffic from business to residential areas,” he added.
While 5G subscription growth in some markets has slowed as a result of the pandemic, this is outweighed by other markets where it is accelerating, prompting Ericsson to raise its year-end 2020 forecast for global 5G subscriptions.
“Beyond measuring the success of 5G in subscriptions, its impact ultimately will be judged by the benefits it brings to people and enterprises,” Mr. Jejdling added. “5G was made for innovation and this crisis has highlighted the true value of connectivity and the role it can play in restarting economies.”
Changes in behaviour due to lockdown restrictions have caused measurable changes in the usage of both fixed and mobile networks. The largest share of the traffic increase has been absorbed by fixed residential networks, which have experienced 20-100% growth.
But many service providers also noticed a spike in demand on their mobile networks.
As per a recent study by Ericsson Consumer Lab, 83% of the respondents from 11 countries claimed that ICT helped them significantly to cope with the lockdown. The results showed increased adoption and usage of ICT services, such as e-learning and wellness apps, that helped consumers adapt to new realities, underpinned by connectivity.
Mobile broadband technologies accounted for 58% of mobile subscriptions in 2019, and this figure is predicted to reach 82% by 2025. Total mobile broadband subscriptions are set to top 1 billion by 2025. “5G will represent around 18% of mobile subscriptions in India at the end of 2025.” stated Patrik Cerwall, Head of Strategic Marketing Insights and Executive Editor of the Ericsson Mobility Report.
Looking ahead, while 57% said they would save money for financial security, a third planned to invest in 5G and an improved broadband connection at home to be better prepared for a potential second wave of COVID-19.
