OYSTER BAY, NY - 4G data traffic has started to dominate the total traffic consumption, and annual global 4G data usage in 2020 will exceed 224.7 exabytes, 79% of the total data traffic, new research predicts.

Although mobile voice revenues continue to decline across all regions, aggregate mobile service revenues for 2014 increased 2.8% year-on-year globally, mainly driven by the robust data services. The gap between 4G and 3G monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) will widen from 2014 to 2020, according to ABI Research. Competition will drive down the ARPU for mobile operators, but the 4G ARPU will hold up better as a result of the higher data consumption stimulated by 4G users.

“To propel data traffic usage and maintain sustainable profitability, mobile operators are sparing no effort to migrate customers to 4G networks through new favorable tariff plans, and convenient and quick update services,” comments Marina Lu, research analyst at ABI Research. “In addition, the richer content services including HD video, lossless music, and high-speed games are in great demand, boosting data service revenues.”

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