Ericsson has unveiled their latest report on mobile traffic. The most striking prediction is related to future growth of the mobile data traffic; Ericsson’s estimate is that the traffic will grow approximately 12x between 2012 and 2018, which gives 50% CAGR.

The prediction of traffic sources in 2018 is that smartphones will generate the same amount of mobile data traffic as other devices combined (mobile PCs, tablets, mobile routers). Mobile data growth will be driven mostly by video. The report also outlines the difference in data usage between tethering and non-tethering smartphone users, as well as analyses impact of game apps, especially free ad-supported games.

While there are no completely new conclusions in the report, it’s still worth reviewing, as it provides a good summary of what the mobile providers across the world will have to face in the upcoming 5 years. The predictions underline importance of new network investments, but also the need for active policy management and QoS-dependent, service-specific data charging models which can help the operators tame the growing traffic avalanche.

The report can be found here.