US mobile data traffic to cross 1Exabyte

NEW YORK, USA: According to Chetan Sharma, a technology and strategy consulting analyst, by the end of 2010, the average US consumption will be approximately 325 MB/mo, up 112 percent from 2009.

To which Gigaom adds, "The total US mobile data traffic will exceed 1 Exabyte for the first time by the end of 2010."

(Exabyte, is a unit of information equal to 1000 petabytes or a billion gigabytes.)

Also Read: India's 3G to boost mobile data traffic in Asia

Sharma also finds that the US wireless data market grew seven percent Q/Q and 25 percent Y/Y to exceed $14B in mobile data service revenues in Q3 2010.

"We expect that in less than 5 years, the connected devices category will generate more revenue for the operators than the entire prepaid segment in the US. While today, connected devices represent only three percent of the quarterly data revenues, this segment didn’t really exist a few months ago and will keep on gaining strength every year for the foreseeable future," he notes.

Moreover, the anlayst adds that the US is also leading the way in smartphone sales. In Q3 2010, 47 percent of the devices sold in the US were smartphones compared to 24 percent globally.

"The launch of 4G networks provides an opportunity to realign the industry. The usage and data consumption trends are enabling carriers to accelerate their 3.5G/4G plans and develop long-term business and technical strategies," he adds.

Although the ITU christened LTE-A and Wireless MAN-Advanced as the “official” 4G technologies, it didn't really bother the marketing departments.