Report itu-r m. 2243 (11/2011)

1 Introduction

IMT encompasses both IMT-2000 and IMTAdvanced collectively based on Resolution ITU-R 56. IMT-2000 provides access by means of one or more radio links to a wide range of telecommunications services supported by the fixed telecommunications networks (e.g. PSTN/Internet) and other services specific to mobile users.

Since the year 2000, IMT-2000 has been continuously enhanced and. IMT-2000 Recommendation ITU-R M.1457 has been updated continuously. Some new features and technologies were introduced to IMT-2000 which enhanced its capacity.

International Mobile Telecommunications – Advanced (IMT-Advanced) is a mobile system that includes the new capabilities of IMT that go far beyond those of IMT-2000 and also has capabilities for high-quality multimedia applications within a wide range of services and platforms providing a significant improvement in performance and quality of current services. IMT-Advanced systems support low to high mobility applications and a wide range of data rates in accordance with user and service demands in multiple user environments. Such systems provide access to a wide range of telecommunication services including advanced mobile services, supported by mobile and fixed networks, which are generally packet-based.

As of February 2011 there are globally 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions amongst the planet’s 6.9 billion people. Globally, it is estimated that 3.7 billion people out of the total of 6.9 billion people are connected and can be instantly in touch with each other at home, in the office or during travel. Also, more than 90% of the world’s population is under the coverage of mobile networks, which compared with the global Internet penetration of 30%, represents a huge potential for mobile broadband to become a major access enabler to Internet.

According to the ITU Statshot Issue 7, August 2011,⁴ in 2010, almost 100 economies had mobile cellular penetration over 100% – and 17 economies⁵ had penetration rates above 150% as depicted in Figure 2.

FIGURE 2

Mobile penetration for various economies

(Source: ITU Statshot Issue 7, August 2011)

The mobile broadband manufacturing industry is continuously evolving towards more efficient radiocommunication technologies, coupled with an all-IP open Internet network architecture. Through innovations like beam forming antenna systems, interference mitigation, multiple and aggregated carriers, power control, repeaters and scheduling schemes, etc., efficiency of spectrum usage has been achieved. Although some of these enhancements in the IMT radiocommunication technologies are enabling operators to further increase their capability and capacity within their operating spectrum, it is foreseen that these new demands, especially, for much higher bit rate service, will require additional actions in the future, further leading to reduced costs to achieve greater affordability.

2 Traffic and user penetration information of existing mobile broadband deployments (until 2011)

2.1 Global IMT traffic from 2006 to 2011

Since WRC-07, the demand for mobile data services has grown significantly, with a reported 522% increase in total worldwide mobile data traffic between 2008 and 2010⁶ as illustrated in Figure 3. This is placing increasing pressure on mobile networks to accommodate the continued growth in demand for services.

Figure 3

Global mobile traffic during years 2008-2010


By 2010 mobile data traffic was three times the volume of the entire global internet traffic in the year 20006. The dramatic increase has been driven by new services enabled by new devices and business models; most notable was mobile video traffic which grew to 50% of all mobile data traffic by 2010⁷.

The current growth rates of mobile data traffic resemble those of the fixed network from 1997 through 2001, when the average yearly growth was 150%. In the case of the fixed network, the growth rate remained in the range of 150% for 5 years6. The top 1% of mobile data subscribers generate over 20% of mobile data traffic, down from 30% one year ago. Mobile data traffic has evened out over the last year and now matches the 1:20 ratio that has been true of fixed networks for several years. Similarly, the top 10% of mobile data subscribers now generate approximately 60% of mobile data traffic, down from 70% at the beginning of the year⁸ .

Additionally, smart phones represent only 13% of total global handsets in use today, but they represent over 78% of total global handset traffic. In 2010, the typical smart phone generated 24 times more mobile data traffic (79 MB per month) than the typical basic-feature cell phone (which generated only 3.3 MB mobile data traffic per month)⁹.

2.2 Global IMT subscriber information from 2006 to 2011

As of February 2011 there are globally 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions amongst the planet’s 6.9 billion people and more than 1.2 billion¹⁰ people among the global population are connected via 3G network (18% penetration). Figures 4 and 5 depict both mobile subscriptions worldwide and active mobile broadband subscriptions, respectively¹¹. Annex 2 provides more detailed information for existing mobile broadband implementation.

FIGURE 4

Mobile subscriptions (worldwide)

FigURE 5

Active mobile broadband subscriptions (millions) per region

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