Global smartphone subscriptions to hit 5.6bn by 2019 – Ericsson

Global mobile subscriptions are expected to reach a threshold of 9.3
billion by 2019, with smartphones accounting for about 5.6 billion (or
60 per cent), due to rising smartphone user experience.
According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, released at the
International telecommunication Union Conference in Bangkok Thailand,
last weekend, about 90 percent of the world's population will be
covered by WCDMA/HSPA in 2019 and 65 percent by the Long Term
Evolution (LTE)/ 4G.
Smartphone subscriptions, the report disclosed would triple and
smartphone traffic would increase 10 times between 2013 and 2019
reaching 10 exabytes. It also noted that video is growing at 55
percent annually, and this will represent more than 50 percent of the
mobile data traffic, while social networking and web services will
account for 10 percent each in 2019.
The reports, Ericsson maintained includes an appendix providing data
and insights on telecommunication trends in sub Saharan Africa over
the next 5 years, noted that mobile subscriptions are projected to
grow to around 930 million by the end of 2019, with a 446 percent
growth in low cost smartphones, PC's and tablets, and increased
viewing of video.
Speaking on this latest report, Ericsson's Senior Vice President and
Head of Strategy, Mr. Douglas Gilstrap, noted that the rapid pace of
smartphone uptake has been phenomenal and is set to continue. It 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, it
noted.
"Interestingly, this trend will be driven by uptake in China and other
emerging markets as lower-priced smartphone models become available".
Currently, smartphones represent 25-30 percent of all mobile phone
subscriptions globally, but account for the majority (55 percent) of
mobile phones sold in Q3. Over the forecast period, smartphone uptake
in Sub-Saharan Africa will be relatively rapid, driven partly by
low-cost smartphones entering the market and the increasing demand for
content services to be delivered over mobile devices.
Gilstrap ,further explained that this edition of Ericsson Mobility
Report also includes further analysis of applications (Apps)
coverage2, a new approach to evaluating network performance and user
experience, with particular focus on indoor and city environments.
Radio signals attenuate rapidly as they go through buildings and the
high concentration of users, building material and height all pose
additional challenges.
Said he: "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". Adding that Ericsson has created the Traffic Exploration Tool,
for creating customized graphs and tables using data from the report
and that this information can be filtered by region, subscription,
technology, traffic and device type.