Streaming video – from megabits to gigabytes
Smartphone traffic per subscription will continue to grow, driven by increasing video quality and immersive formats.
Key findings
- Smartphone data consumption and smartphone subscriptions are set to increase significantly.
- Video is the most significant traffic type generated by smartphone users.
- The increase in video data traffic has three main drivers: increased viewing time, more video content, and an evolution to higher resolutions and complex formats.
- User behaviors are shifting as network capabilities expand and are projected to change more dramatically as 5G services become available.
- For immersive formats to go mainstream, latency reductions and support for more symmetrical uplink/downlink throughput are required.
- At the end of 2024, the global average data consumption per smartphone is projected to be 21GB per month.
By the end of 2024, it is estimated that a
smartphone will consume more than 21GB of data per month on average –
nearly 4 times the amount consumed in 2018. In addition to this
increased usage, the number of smartphone subscriptions is set to
increase by 45 percent, reaching a total of 7.2 billion.
New video-watching behaviors drive data consumption
Video currently stands out as the most
significant traffic type consumed by smartphone users, at a current
average of 60 percent of total traffic. The importance of video will
only increase; by the end of 2024, it is projected to account for 74
percent of traffic.
Evolution of the average smartphone user’s data consumption
| Traffic category | World average data consumption (GB per month) | |
| 2018 | 2024 | |
| Downloads | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Messaging | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| App traffic | 1.0 | 2.1 |
| Audio streaming | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Video streaming | 3.4 | 16.3 |
| Total | 5.6 | 21 |
The increase in video data traffic per
smartphone user has three main drivers: increased viewing time, more
video content embedded in news media and social networking, and an
evolution to higher resolutions and more demanding formats.
Today, most mobile video is streamed at low-definition and standard-definition formats 360p and 480p respectively. This is due to restrictions introduced by both content and communications service providers, as well as customers selecting formats with lower bitrates to get the most out of their data bucket. But user behaviors are shifting as network capabilities expand and are projected to change more dramatically as 5G services are made available. The streaming of high-definition (HD) video in 720p and 1080p resolutions is increasing, and the average resolution of a YouTube video in some LTE networks is already up to 720p.
Today, most mobile video is streamed at low-definition and standard-definition formats 360p and 480p respectively. This is due to restrictions introduced by both content and communications service providers, as well as customers selecting formats with lower bitrates to get the most out of their data bucket. But user behaviors are shifting as network capabilities expand and are projected to change more dramatically as 5G services are made available. The streaming of high-definition (HD) video in 720p and 1080p resolutions is increasing, and the average resolution of a YouTube video in some LTE networks is already up to 720p.
Further explore the relationship between the usage of various app types and monthly traffic per subscription with Ericsson’s Mobility Calculator.
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