3G Wireless Data Usage Set To Jump Nearly 10x By 2011

A report from iGR tells us what i have already suspected for long time.

The research from iGR shows that in 2006 all mobile data customers sent and received about 0.73 terabytes of data per month. iGR expects that number to climb to 6.94 terabytes in in the next four years. That's a lot of bytes flying through the air. Will the networks be able to handle it all?

iGR reached its conclusions by looking at several different types of users today. Light, medium, and heavy mobile data subscribers had their monthly data analyzed to show what their usage amounted to. Light users sent and received 5.92 megabytes per month, medium users 17.66 megabytes , and heavy users 44.4 megabytes. In examining my own wireless bills, I was surprised to see that I only consume about 12 megabytes per month surfing the mobile Web and sending/receiving mobile e-mail using my cell phone. These same two activities were the most common uses that iGR discovered during the course of its research, as well as virtual private network (VPN) logins and instant messaging.

"This study provides a frame of reference within which mobile operators can evaluate the future price of their mobile data packages as a result of IMS implementation and adoption," said Matt Vartabedian, research manager at iGR.

The report also noted that by implementing an IMS platform, service providers can gain a common, secure service development framework and architecture that operates across multiple network domains.

I hope the operators understand this as well and bring down the price of data bundles so we can easily access data from our phones.