Smartphone traffic 'to increase eightfold by 2020' By this time, 90 percent of the world's population over six years old will have a mobile phone, according to Ericsson, and smartphone subscriptions will have topped 6.1 billion. The increase in data traffic between 2019 and 2020 will be greater than the total sum of all mobile data traffic up until the end of 2013, the company stated in its report. Video is by far the largest and fastest growing segment of mobile data traffic. It currently accounts for 45 per cent of mobile data traffic and is expected to grow by 45 per cent annually through to 2020, by which time it will account for around 55 per cent of all global mobile data traffic. Music streaming is also gaining popularity, but functions such as caching of content and offline playlists limit the impact on traffic growth. Audio traffic is still expected to increase at an annual rate of around 35 percent, which is in line with total mobile traffic growth. Meanwhile, social networking constitutes around 15 per cent of total mobile data traffic, and web browsing around 10 per cent, although this is expected to decline by 2020 as a result of stronger growth in other categories. "User behaviour is changing, resulting in video being consumed on all types of devices and in higher quantities, including when people are out and about," said Ericsson in its report. Technological improvements such as new video compression techniques will lead to more effective usage of data throughput, and will help mobile network operators accommodate increased demand. The full Ericsson Mobility Report findings areavailable at www.ericsson.com/ericsson-mobility-report