Internet of Things to overtake mobile phones by 2018: Report

Mumbai: The latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, published on Wednesday, revealed that Internet of Things (IoT) is set to overtake mobile phones as the largest category of connected device by 2018.

Between 2015 and 2021, the number of IoT connected devices is expected to grow 23 per  cent annually, out of which cellular IoT is forecast to have the highest growth rate.

Of the 28 billion total devices that will be connected by 2021, close to 16 billion will be IoT devices.

Western Europe will lead the way in adding IoT connections—the number of IoT devices in this market is projected to grow 400 per cent by 2021, principally driven by regulatory requirements.

Rima Qureshi, senior VP and CSO, Ericsson, said: “IoT is now accelerating as device costs fall and innovative applications emerge. From 2020, commercial deployment of 5G networks will provide additional capabilities that are critical for IoT, such as network slicing and the capacity to connect exponentially more devices than is possible today.”

As Smartphone subscriptions continue to increase, they are forecast to surpass basic feature phones in Q3, 2016. By 2021, smartphone subscriptions will almost double from 3.4 billion to 6.3 billion.

Also revealed in the report, there are now 5 billion mobile subscribers—unique users—in the world today, which is testament to the phenomenal growth of mobile technology in a relatively short period of time.

Detailed in the report is a dramatic shift in teen viewing habits: use of cellular data for smartphone video grew 127 per cent in just 15 months (2014-15).

Over a period of four years (2011-15) there has been a 50 per cent drop in the time teens spend watching TV/video on a TV screen, and in contrast an 85 per cent increase in those viewing TV/video on a smartphone.