New iGR Study Forecasts Worldwide Mobile Data Traffic to Reach Almost 16.7 Terabytes per Month in 2019

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - January 22, 2015) - Due to both the increasing number of mobile subscribers in the world and the subscribers' desire to stay constantly connected through their mobile device, the amount of data flowing over the world's mobile network is increasing exponentially. iGR estimates that in 2014, approximately 2.6 million terabytes of mobile data traffic flowed over the world's cellular data networks per month, and by 2019, iGR forecasts mobile data traffic will rise to 16.7 million terabytes per month.

To create this forecast, iGR has built mobile connection usage profiles based on its primary and secondary research. These profiles divide mobile data connections into four different usage categories: light, medium, heavy and extreme. These categories are defined by the activities and applications that tend to be used -- checking email, downloading or streaming music or video, or checking social sites, Voice over IP (and Voice over LTE) on a per application or per use basis. Variables for each type of activity include frequency of use, such as number of times per day, week or month, duration of the activity, and transmission time where applicable. iGR's model then estimates the mobile data used per month (in megabytes) for each category of mobile data connection. iGR then forecasts the number of connections in each category and then multiplies the per-category estimate by the number of connections. This provides an aggregate number for the given region.

"iGR believes that the consumption of mobile data will grow aggressively over the forecast period in both developing markets and more mature markets," said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, a market research consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile industry. "The drivers of this growth include network rollouts, such as upgrades to LTE and LTE-Advanced, reasonably priced data-centric smartphones, and the trend toward consuming content stored in the cloud."

iGR's new market study, Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast, 2014 - 2019: The Growth Continues, forecasts the mobile data traffic from 2014 to 2019 at the global level, as well as for the following regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Japan. For each region, iGR forecasts the number of light, medium, heavy and extreme connections, the amount of data usage per type of connection per month, the average amount of data usage per connection and subscriber per month, and the total mobile data traffic per month.

The following key questions are addressed in the new research study:

• What are the drivers of mobile data traffic?
• What are some of the limiting factors on the amount of mobile data traffic?
• What is mobile data usage today in all regions of the world and at what rate is mobile data usage expected to grow over the forecast period?
• How does mobile data usage differ between light, medium, heavy and extreme connections?
• What types of connections dominate each regional market?
• How many mobile subscribers and mobile connections are there in each region?
• For each region, how much mobile data traffic is used by an average mobile connection?
• For each region, how much mobile data traffic is used by an average subscriber?

The information in this report will be valuable for:

• Mobile operators
• Device OEMs
• Mobile infrastructure vendors
• Mobile backhaul services and solutions providers
• Content providers and distributors
• Financial analysts and investors

The new report can be purchased and downloaded directly from iGR's website at www.iGR-inc.com. Alternatively, contact Iain Gillott at (512) 263-5682 or at Iain@iGR-inc.com for additional details.

About iGR
iGR is a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry. Founded by Iain Gillott, one of the wireless industry's leading analysts, in late 2000 as iGillottResearch, iGR is now entering its fifteenth year of operation. iGR continuously researches emerging and existent technologies, technology industries, and consumer markets. We use our detailed research to offer a range of services to help companies improve their position in the marketplace, clearly define their future direction, and ultimately improve their bottom line.

iGR researches a range of wireless and mobile products and technologies, including: smartphones; tablets; mobile wearable devices; connected cars; mobile applications; bandwidth demand and use; small cell and het-net architectures; mobile EPC and RAN virtualization; DAS; LTE; VoLTE; IMS; NFC; GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSPA; CDMA 1x/EV-DO; iDEN; SIP; macro-, pico- and femtocells; mobile backhaul; WiFi and WiFi offload; and SIM and UICC.

A more complete profile of the company can be found at www.igr-inc.com.