A single subscriber streaming HD video continuously for 3.55 million years

31 billion hours of continuous HD video streaming

For the next six years, nearly 2.6 billion new subscribers will be added to mobile broadband networks - enough to fill a European championship soccer stadium (with capacity of 50,000) 20 times each day. As many people went to Times Square in New York to welcome in the new year for 2017.

The latest collection of statistics about the growth of subscribers and data traffic in mobile networks is presented in the June edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report. It shows the highest year-on-year mobile data growth globally since 2013, led by massive growth in India, and highlights the underlying need for mobile data.

The use of smartphones and easy access to mobile internet services comprise a major part of the traffic numbers. Ericsson analyzes "smartphone mobile data traffic" within "mobile data traffic" to illustrate this trend more clearly. By the end of 2022, total smartphone mobile data traffic will have increased 9X, reaching 66 ExaBytes per month.

Niklas Heuveldop, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Technology and Emerging Business, Ericsson, says: "Based on measurements made in hundreds of mobile networks, the Ericsson Mobility Report data truly illustrates the tremendous underlying growth in the industry. 4G subscriptions are increasing faster than ever, Voice over LTE uptake is accelerating and traffic growth has reached levels we have not seen since 2013.

"I am particularly excited to see the industry's major steps to progress network evolution, including the approval of the Non-Standalone 5G New Radio (NR) that will enable early 5G deployments. According to our forecast, we anticipate that this will lead to more than half a billion 5G subscriptions and a population coverage of 15 percent by 2022."

Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC)