Global mobile data traffic doubled between Q4 2011 and Q4 2012, according to the newly released Ericsson Mobility Report. Mobile data traffic grew by 28 percent between Q3 and Q4 2012.
Some highlights of the report:
- There was a net gain of 140 million subscriptions globally (30 million of which were in China).
- During 2012, smartphones accounted for 40 percent of new mobile phone sales, compared with 30 percent in 2011.
- Global mobile penetration reached 89 percent in Q4 2012 and mobile subscriptions now total around 6.3 billion. However, the actual number of subscribers is around 4.4 billion, since many people have several subscriptions.
- In Q4, mobile broadband subscriptions grew by approximately 125 million to 1.5 billion, reflecting a 50 percent year-on-year increase.
http://www.ericsson.com/res/docs/2013/ericsson-mobility-report-february-2013.pdf