Several factors will continue to drive 3G traffic volumes

3G traffic volumes are set to increase substantially in the next five years. Many factors, as shown in the figure below, will support this growth, including:

• increasing 3G penetration, as users rapidly migrate from 2/2.5G to 3G services
• increasing penetration of USB modems and datacards (supporting mobile broadband services)
• increasing penetration of smartphones
• proliferation of flat-rate service bundles, with increasing usage allocations
• changing service mixes, towards usage-intensive services
• improving performance of cellular networks, with the introduction of 3G enhancements (such as HSPA+ and LTE), which better support usage-intensive services
• increasing availability of easy-to-use data applications on smartphones
• increasing usage of 3G devices indoors.

Factors that will drive 3G traffic volumes