Mobile data traffic generated by smartphones, featurephones and tablets is anticipated to surpass 90,000 petabytes by 2017, which is equivalent to 42 quadrillion tweets or around seven billion Blu-ray movies, according to a new report from Juniper Research.
The report also revealed that only 40% of the data generated by mobile devices will reach the cellular network by 2017, as the majority of the data traffic will be transferred through a Wi-Fi network.
Additionally, the report finds that despite 2012 being a breakthrough year for 4G LTE, operators are in need of offloading technologies including Wi-Fi & Small cells to boost 4G networks.
Juniper Research senior analyst Nitin Bhas said the trend will continue and operators will make use of more integrated units of Wi-Fi and small cells.
"In the case of indoor cells, where most usage happens, you effectively have Wi-Fi as the pioneer and are in many ways the leader in this area," Bhas said. "Small cells are indeed becoming a part of it."
The research firm also reported that mobile network operators are starting to build out networks based on public access small cells, which is expected to have a big effect on the offload ecosystem.
The increasing demand for high bandwidth services from end users and the accessibility of Wi-Fi on most mobile devices have forced the operators to deal with consumer expectations regarding quality and experience while generating opportunities for the operators.
Future carrier-Wi-Fi adoption will be supported by Next Generation Hotspot (NGH) and Hotspot 2.0 specifications in addition to 5GHz enabled devices.
Notebooks and eReaders are anticipated to onload more than 20% of their data traffic to the mobile networks during 2013, with North America and Western Europe having the highest offload factor through the forecast period.
