The Perfect Data Storm [Infographic]

In the future, it is likely that our networks will need 1000x more bandwidth. This is because more people are using visually heavy social content such as photos and videos every day, and because of the rise in ownership of smartphones and tablets. The type of content we consume on mobile devices is becoming more diverse. E-books (.0009 GB), Soundtracks (.14 GB), Andriod games (1.8 GB), and HD Movies (5.93 GB) are a couple of examples of the meaty content we can consume on mobile devices. By 2017, video data will increase 16-fold and account for two thirds of the world’s mobile traffic.

In the past five years alone, data traffic on AT&T’s network grew by 25,000 percent, and this year data traffic on China Mobile’s Wireless network surged more than 187 percent. This increase in data could result in network slow-downs and higher costs to subscribers if we do not find a way to weather the storm. A combination of strategies that includes increasing small cells and spectrum will have to be implemented to increase network capacity and weather the storm. To learn more about the coming digital deluge and possible solutions to the problem, check out the infographic below presented by spark.qualcomm.com.