Region’s data traffic to rise 13-fold by 2022

dubai — Mobile data traffic will increase 13-fold by 2022 in the Middle East and North East Africa and help boost 5G subscriptions to 20 million, a report says.

The latest Ericsson Mobility Report for the Middle East and North East Africa forecasts that smartphones will account for 56 per cent of total subscriptions by 2022 across the region.

Mobile subscriptions are growing steadily across the region and expected to reach 690 million by the end of 2016, making up eight per cent of the global market, and reaching 850 million mobile subscriptions by 2022.

The report further said the total number of GSM subscriptions will

We are seeing great interest among operators launching 5G plug-ins on existing 4G networks Rafiah Ibrahim, head of Ericsson Middle East and East Africa

account for 60 per cent of total mobile subscriptions by the end of 2016. It is expected that mobile broadband subscriptions will surpass GSM-only subscriptions by 2018. WCDMA/HSPA subscriptions will increase from around 30 per cent of total subscriptions in 2016 to 42 per cent in 2022.

“Our latest mobility report reflects how digital technology is fast becoming part of everyday life in the region,” said Rafiah Ibrahim, head of Ericsson Middle East and East Africa.

LTE deployment

She said the report highlights the rapid uptake of LTE deployment across the region, paving the way for 5G where the company is expecting 20 million subscriptions by 2022.

“LTE subscriptions are rapidly increasing to account for seven per cent of total mobile subscriptions by the end of 2016 and reaching up to 38 per cent by 2022,” she said. “Today, we are working together with our partners to pave the way for 5G across the region and we are already seeing a great interest among operators launching 5G plug-ins on existing 4G networks,” she added.

By 2022, the report anticipates that mobile data traffic will multiply 13-fold while average active smartphone data consumption per month will increase from 1.8GB in 2016 to 13GB in 2022. These figures are driven by an increase in video consumption, social networking and app usage.

For example, over 70 per cent of smartphone users in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE watch video clips on social networking websites at least once a week.

— business@khaleejtimes.com