Recent research by giffgaff, the Mobile Virtual Network Operator owned by Telefonica, has revealed insights into increased mobile video streaming that has led to startling predictions for the next five years or so of global data usage.
Giffgaff predicts that global data usage will rise by a significant 720% - largely driven, it believes, by an increase in mobile video streaming. To put this into perspective, in real terms this means that the figures will increase from 9.4bn GB to a figure more than 67bn GB by 2021.
The main points of the research and report breaks this down into further insights:
• Individual use will rise to 5.07 GB per month (average) – currently 1.72 GB
• Web browsing to an average of 0.45 GB per month – 0.29 GB (2016)
• Messaging data usage is predicted to increase from 0.32 GB per month to 1.57 GB
• Audio streaming from 0.07 GB (monthly) to 0.20 GB
Giffgaff predict that the largest increase of all will be seen in mobile video streaming, which it expects, according to the results of its research, to rise to 2.85 GB in 2021, from just 0.58 GB per month (average) today.
Experts say that Microsoft may find it difficult ‘to make inroads in mobile’, but suggest that Microsoft could find a way, perhaps with a Microsoft-powered phone to replace the smartphone.
Giffgaff CCO believes that the real demand will show itself in the form of more data to keep up with the increasing speed and capability of mobile technology.