Mobile data traffic originating from PC (USB) modems and routers is expected to increase from 2,000 petabytes of data to a staggering 8,000 in 2014.
“Today, and for most of our forecast period, modems and routers in Western Europe will generate the highest levels of mobile data traffic, but by an ever-decreasing margin. In 2014, we expect the Asia-Pacific region to overtake Western Europe as the largest source of demand for this traffic,” ABI Research senior analyst Jeff Orr told TG Daily in an e-mailed statement.
“The largest contribution to this demand still comes from USB modems, with general web and Internet access the leading application by a wide margin, followed by video streaming and TV viewing and – again at a much lower level – audio streaming.
“Peer-to-peer and VoIP applications contribute relatively little to the overall usage mix due to operator service restrictions and/or monthly data usage caps.”
Orr added that devices such as modems and routers are currently the primary drivers of mobile data traffic.
“It’s not smartphones, nor computers with embedded radios. Versatile, aftermarket modem products are really driving mobile data traffic on the world’s networks.”
