Mobile market set for continued rapid growth across the world

Sarah Glenister

Global mobile subscriptions will reach 9.3 billion by 2018, Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report has forecast.
In the third quarter of 2012, 6.4 billion subscriptions were recorded across the world and this figure is expected to reach 6.6 billion by the end of the year. As many as 1.5 billion of these are forecast to be broadband subscriptions, as consumers rush to update their technology to include faster internet access to run the apps and online tools that have become a major part of everyday life.The demand for this technology is expected to continue, with mobile broadband subscriptions seen rising to 6.5 billion by 2018 and forecast to replace xDSL in some markets.

Another key area of growth is in smartphone technology, where subscriptions are expected to hit 1.1 billion by the end of this year and 3.3 billion by 2018. However, there will be wide regional differences when it comes to the penetration of smartphone technology in the wider market, Ericsson said. In North America and Western Europe, most mobile subscribers are expected to have upgraded to a smartphone by 2018, for example. But in less developed countries like the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions only approximately a third of all handsets will be smartphones.

Additionally, this growth in smartphones does not necessarily signal the demise of basic handsets with subscriptions seen remaining at five billion in the coming years. This is because the lower end of the market is expected to stay stable. This will not dampen the astonishing growth of smartphone technology in the years to come, however, as most subscriptions are now attached to basic mobile phones and to reach Ericsson’s predictions for 2018, the smartphone market will need to expand rapidly.

The type of subscription people take out also depends on the device they are using, with Ericsson predicting growth in the subscriptions that are normally attached to mobile PCs and smartphones. These subscriptions usually offer large data volumes, which suit the expectations of their users, who require technology to download and use applications, online tools and watch videos. This type of subscription is expected to rise above four billion by 2018.

Meanwhile, PCs, mobile routers and tablets are also seeing continued growth, with mobile subscriptions for these larger-sized screens seen rising to 850 million by 2018 from 250 million this year. Ericsson highlighted that this expansion in the market would see mobile subscriptions overtake the fixed broadband market, another indicator of the rapid change in which people are using their technology as part of their everyday lives rather than simply at home.

New Long Term Evolution (LTE) is also seen picking up quickly, reaching 1.6 billion subscriptions by 2018, while GSM/EDGE subscriptions are seen declining in developed countries. LTE subscriptions will be taken out by the higher-end of the customer base, but GSM/EDGE will remain a world leader for much longer after they have fallen in Western Europe and North America due to people in less-developed countries continuing to choose cheaper and less advanced technology.

Company: Ericsson
Website: ericsson.com
Launch Date: 1876

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of communications technology and services. We are enabling the Networked Society with efficient real-time solutions that allow us all to study, work and live our lives more freely, in sustainable societies around the world.

Their offering comprises services, software and infrastructure within Information and Communications Technology for telecom operators and other industries. Today more than 40 percent of the world’s mobile traffic goes through Ericsson networks and we support customers’ networks servicing more than 2.5 billion subscribers.

We operate in 180 countries and employ more than 100,000 people. Founded in 1876, Ericsson is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2011 the company’s net sales were SEK 226.9 billion (USD 35.0 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX, Stockholm and NASDAQ, New York stock exchanges.

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