4G emerged as the key driver of mobile data consumption in 2017: Nokia

4G emerged as the key driver of mobile data consumption in 2017, capturing 82 percent of mobile data traffic and growing 135 percent year-on-year (YoY) with the rapid deployment of 4G networks and affordable devices, as per a new study by Nokia's annual Mobile Broadband Index.

The study says that 3G grew data grew 286 percent in 2017, driven by an increased appetite for data consumption and better coverage.

"The year 2017 saw telcos expand 4G networks and this momentum is likely to continue. The drop in prices of devices, both smartphones and feature phones, is driving data consumption in the country," Sanjay Malik, Head of India Market, Nokia, said in a statement.

According to the report, data consumption continued to be driven by video, which contributed 65 percent to 75 percent of total mobile data traffic and this was powered by the availability of Hindi and regional language content, as well as the proliferation of original OTT-only series. In 2017, Hindi and regional languages comprised more than 90 percent of popular videos watched online.

Furthermore, Nokia said that, on average, an Indian subscriber consumed 7.4 GB of data per user per month on their mobile devices over mobile networks alone, placing India ahead of developed markets like the UK, South Korea, and France. The average consumption of both Wi-Fi and mobile networks in India was 8.8 GB data per user per month, at par with other developed markets.

The 4G network expansion was supported by the dramatic growth of LTE devices in the country, with 9 out of 10 smartphones shipped in 2017 supporting 4G. The LTE-capable device base grew to 218 million in 2017, with 74 percent being Voice over LTE (VoLTE) capable as well.

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Service providers will need to take advantage of technologies such as 3-band carrier aggregation and 4x4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) to transform their networks and sate the ever-increasing demand for data consumption without a glitch. The deployment of LTE-A/LTE-Pro and Cloud RAN will further enhance the customer experience.