Global wireless connections are expected to grow from 6.9 billion connections in 2014 to reach almost 9.5 billion in 2019, according to iGR, a market strategy consultancy firm focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry. iGR via its market study also expects the global wireless penetration rate to rise from 96.4 percent in 2014 to 125 percent in 2019. iGR attributed the growth to the proliferation of mobile devices, including mobile phones, tablets, connected cars and additional mobile connections generated by the Internet of Things (IoT). The forecast by iGR is in line with GSMA's earlier prediction that said that by 2020, two-thirds of all mobile phones will be smartphones, making the total mobile connections to reach 9 billion.
LTE connections are expected to grow to take a larger share of global mobile connections from now until 2020. Another report by GSMA said that more than half of european mobile connections are expected to run on 4G network by 2020 driven by network investments and smart devices. In US, LTE connections made up 33% of the total 391 million mobile connections in North America in 2014, according to findings by research firm, Ovum.
Iain Gillott, President & Founder, iGR
iGR expects that the number of mobile connections will continue to grow, even though several worldwide regions are already at 100 percent penetration. This growth will be caused by both the addition of new subscribers in less developed regions and the adoption of multiple devices by subscribers in more developed regions.