Globally, 54% of mobile connections will be \u201csmart\u201d connections by 2018, up from 21% in 2013, according to new research from technology group Cisco.<\/p>\n
According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2013 to 2018, smartphones, laptops, and tablets will drive about 94% of global mobile data traffic by 2018.<\/p>\n
M2M traffic will represent 5% of 2018 global mobile data traffic while basic handsets will account for 1% of global mobile data traffic by 2018. Other portables will account for 0.1%.<\/p>\n
Mobile cloud traffic will grow 12-fold from 2013 to 2018, a 64% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), Cisco said.<\/p>\n
4G traffic growth<\/strong><\/p>\n In many emerging markets, service providers are creating new mobile infrastructures with 4G solutions, Cisco said.<\/p>\n In some mature markets, service providers are supplementing or replacing legacy 2G or 3G solutions with 4G technologies.<\/p>\n Video remains on top<\/strong><\/p>\n Mobile video traffic will increase 14-fold from 2013 to 2018 and will have the highest growth rate of any mobile application category, Cisco said.<\/p>\n Wi-Fi\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n More mobile data traffic will be offloaded onto Wi-Fi from mobile-connected devices (17.3 exabytes per month) than will remain on mobile networks by 2018 (15.9 exabytes per month), Cisco said.<\/p>\n By 2018, 52% of global mobile traffic will be offloaded onto Wi-Fi\/small cell networks, up from 45% in 2013.<\/p>\n \u201cOffload\u201d refers to traffic from dual mode devices and supports cell and Wi-Fi connectivity, excluding laptops) over Wi-Fi and small cell networks.<\/p>\n Mobile ad spend to reach $18 billion<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n
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More on mobile traffic<\/h3>\n