20 Mobile Traffic Statistics & Facts

Mobile traffic statistics and facts such as what percentage of internet traffic is mobile and mobile web usage for 2020

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Looking for facts and statistics for mobile traffic? What Percentage of Internet Traffic Is Mobile in 2020? Below is a list of some of this years greatest stats as well as brief history of mobile internet.

The first generation (1G) of mobile connectivity was introduced all the way back in 1979 in Tokyo, Japan by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).

1G had poor coverage and because different systems used different frequencies it was not possible to have compatibility between different operators.

2G, launched in 1991 in Finland gave transfer speeds of 9.6 kilobits per second with improvements leading to download speeds of 500 kilobits per seconds by the time 3G was launch in 2001 by NNT DoCoMo.

3G provided data transfers speeds up to 4 times faster compared with 2G systems.

Today, the big telecoms companies are competing with each other to be first in 5G with greater bandwidth proving faster download speeds for consumers.

Lower latency due to 5G will introduce edge computing solutions for enterprise.

In 2020 approximately half of all internet traffic is driven from the use of mobile devices and 62% of global internet users use mobile devices to access the internet.

Mobile traffic is going to continue to grow with 70% of global population having connectivity in 2023.

Mobile traffic speed increases are going to outpace fixed line competitors over the coming years, tripling to under 44 megabits per second with 5G exceeding at 575 megabits per second.

This article includes interesting statistics and facts about Mobile traffic, for example did you know that half of all clicks on paid search ads occur through mobile device use? Mobile traffic has over taken desktop traffic in recent years.

We will also see Mobile Internet usages statistics in 2020 such as that 63% of Googles traffic comes from mobile devices.

The history of Mobile Internet, from 1G to the deployment of millimeter wave 5G technology in 2019 is discussed.

Finally, we see expectations for Mobile Internet in 2021 and beyond where the number of people in the United States using only mobile devices to access the internet is expected to reach over 52 million in 2021.

Mobile Traffic Stats

  • Approx. half of all traffic on the internet is from the use of mobile devices. [Source]
  • Mobile traffic is currently over 30 exabytes a month. [Source]
  • Of all the traffic driven to Google, 63% is from a mobile device. [Source]
  • Yahoo only gets less than half their traffic from mobile devices. [Source]
  • 62% of global internet users use a mobile device to access the internet. [Source]
  • In Africa over 60 percent of internet traffic is from mobile device use. [Source]
  • In the US only 40 percent of internet traffic time coming from mobile devices. [Source]
  • In 2020 it is expected that over 3.5 billion people will access the with a smartphone. [Source]
  • Indonesian smartphone users spend 90% of their digital lives on a smartphone. [Source]
  • The demand for mobile ad blockers continues to increase 90% year on year. [Source]

History of Mobile Internet

Here is a brief outline of the history of mobile internet

mobile devices from 1980 to 2019

1979

1G Technology is launched

1G, The analogue mobile connectivity technology was launched in Japan. [Source]

1991

First Digital Transmission (2G)

Mobile data was transmitted over the digital (as opposed to analogue) 2G GSM mobile network for the first time in Finland. [Source]

1996

First Mobile Phone With Internet

The first mobile device with internet access was released, named the Nokia 9000 Communicator. [Source]

First Mobile Web Browser

The first commercial mobile web browser was launched named NetHopper. [Source]

First Mobile Web Service

The first commercial ‘mobile web’ service was first offered, again in Finland. [Source]

1997

First WAP Forum

The WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)  Forum was founded by Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola and Unwired Planet to harmonize mobile web standards. [Source]

2003

3G Released

3G was introduced, providing as much as 4 times the bandwidth of 2G networks. [Source]

2013

4G Released

4G came along, offering greater transmission rates of up to 84 megabits per second. [Source]

2014

Mobile Traffic Soars

Mobile Internet usage overtook desktop use. [Source]

2019

5G Starts Development

5G began deployment and includes the use of millimetre wave frequencies which are faster than 4G offering real world download speeds up to 2 gigabits per second. [Source]

Interesting Facts & Statistics about Mobile Traffic

cell phone stats

  • The overall 5G speed record goes to Ericsson, using millimeter waves, at 4.3 Gigabytes per second in their Stockholm Research and Development Labs. [Source]
  • Ericsson also used advanced beam-forming and beam tracking, using 5G technology to download 3.67 Gigabits per second in a car travelling 170 kilometres per hour. [Source]
  • The 4G Mobile Internet download speed record goes to Finnish Internet Service Provider Elisa who, in 2016, downloaded at a rate of 1.9 Gigabits per second using Huawei Technology [Source]
  • There are over 3.5 billion unique mobile internet users. [Source]
  • Nigeria has the highest proportion of internet traffic from mobile devices. [Source]
  • The average amount of time a Mobile Internet user spends on their smartphone is 2 hours 55 minutes. [Source]
  • The amount spent on Mobile Internet Advertising is predicted to be over $280 billion by 2022. [Source]
  • Right now, over half of all clicks on paid search ads is accounted for by mobile internet use. [Source]
  • These clicks are lower value – with Cost Per Click (CPC) down a quarter compared to desktop. [Source]
  • Click Through Rates (CTR) are higher for mobile internet users however – up 40% compared to desktop. [Source]

Mobile Internet Usage Stats 2021

What will happen with Mobile Internet usage in 2021?

The number of users using only mobile devices to access the internet in the United States is expected to reach 52.3 million [Source].

In general, the number of people globally with access to mobile connectivity is expected to grow, reaching 70 percent of global population by 2023 [Source].

Whilst fixed broadband speeds are expected to double in the next three years, Mobile Internet speeds are expected to triple to 43.9 megabits per second in 2023. 5G speeds will be 13 times higher than standard mobile internet connections by 2023 reaching 575 megabits per second in 2023 [Source].

Got an interesting statistic or fact about mobile traffic that we have missed?

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