4G traffic to surpass 3G traffic by 2016

By 2016, more mobile data traffic will be handled by 4G networks than by 3G ones, according to ABI Research. After crossing the 50 % threshold during the course of 2016, 4G networks are expected to account for around two-thirds of overall mobile data traffic by 2018.

By 2016, more mobile data traffic will be handled by 4G networks than by 3G ones, according to ABI Research. After crossing the 50 % threshold during the course of 2016, 4G networks are expected to account for around two-thirds of overall mobile data traffic by 2018.



ABI Research bases these predictions on an estimated compound annual growth rate of 82 % for 4G data traffic from 2013 to 2018.

The research group notes that while 4G networks accounted for just 2.9 % of mobile phone subscriptions worldwide in June 2013, they are expected to account for around 20 percent of global mobile traffic by the end of this year, mainly because of an increase in data-intensive video streaming activity.