70% of world's population will be using smartphones by 2020 - Says Ericsson Mobility report

According to the new Ericsson Mobility Report " 70 percent of world's population will be using smartphones by 2020"

Ericsson Mobility Report findings, show that by 2020 advanced mobile technology will be commonplace around the globe: smartphone subscriptions will more than double, reaching 6.1 billion, 70% of the world's population will be using smartphones, and 90 percent will be covered by mobile broadband networks.

Interestingly, the report shows that while growth in mature markets comes from an increasing number of devices per individual, in developing regions, it will be drive by a swell of new subscribers.

By end of 2020 almost 80 percent of smartphone subscriptions added will be from Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

This means a huge jump in data usage, with smartphones accounting for 80 percent of all mobile data traffic. Average monthly data usage per smartphone in North America will increase from 2.4 GB today to 14 GB by 2020.

View in Slide share - Ericsson Mobility Report - June 2015 

Rima Qureshi, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, Ericsson, says: 'This immense growth in advanced mobile technology and data usage, driven by a surge in mobile connectivity and smartphone uptake, will makes today's big data revolution feel like the arrival of a floppy disk. We see the potential for mass-scale transformation, bringing a wealth of opportunities for telecom operators and others to capture new revenue streams. But it also requires greater focus on cost efficient delivery and openness to new business models to compete and remain effective.'

The full Ericsson Mobility Report findings, Traffic Exploration Tool, and six regional appendices for North America, South East Asia & Oceania, Europe, North East Asia (from June 4th), Middle East & North East Africa (from June 7th), and India (from June 16th) can be found here: Mobility Report

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The highlights of the report are below:

1. The total number of mobile subscriptions in Q1 2015 was around 7.2 billion, including 108 million new subscriptions. India grew the most (followed by China) in terms of net additions (+26 million) mobile subscribers.


2. Smartphone subscriptions are set to more than double by 2020. By this time, 70 percent of the world´s population will have a smartphone. By 2020 there will be 26 billion connected devices.


3. Screen Size matters: Tablet users spend 50 percent more time watching videos online than average mobile broadband users.


4. The digital signatures of sport: shows that real-time viewing, sharing results and social  networking have become integral parts of sports events, creating a mix of real and virtual experiences.


5. Beyond average data Consumption: heavy data users consume 20 times more video than average. By 2020, 80 percent of mobile data traffic will be from smartphones.

Source: Nasqada / Indianexpress / Ericsson Mobility Report