‘Jordan to follow global trend of increased video consumption on mobiles’

BARCELONA — Ericsson said Monday that video will generate half of mobile data traffic in 2015 globally as a local expert said Jordan will follow suit at a fast pace.

In 2015, more people will watch streamed on-demand video than broadcast TV on a weekly basis, Hans Vestberg, CEO and president of Ericsson, said at a press conference during the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where more than 1,900 exhibitors of technology, services and products are taking part.

The increased number of mobile broadband subscribers, which currently stands at 2.9 billion globally, is playing a key role in driving data consumption, Vestberg noted.

“The future is for broadband and video,” he added. Citing Ericsson studies, Vestberg said the number of fourth generation (4G) subscribers will exceed 800 million globally, which will fuel data consumption.

Noting that world mobile broadband penetration stands at 70 per cent, he added that data will drive growth as voice is no longer the main contributor to telecom operators’ revenues.

Jordan, which has 1.6 million Internet subscribers, of whom 1.3 million use mobile broadband, is one of the countries witnessing an increased growth in data consumption and where video is on the rise, Jawad Abbassi, chairman of the ICT Association of Jordan (int@j), told The Jordan Times over the phone.

“Video in Jordan is expected to represent half of mobile data consumption if not more,” Abbassi said, adding that the penetration of smartphones and the introduction of 4G services are contributing to this increased growth.

“Fourth generation, which provides speeds that are much higher than third generation, will encourage more usage of applications and video watching, mostly online video because there are not many TV channels offering video on demand in the region. Watching videos online will surpass traditional TVs in the future but it needs time,” he added.

In Jordan, where there are some 11 million mobile subscriptions according to official figures, telcos’ revenues from data consumption have not reached a level where they are the major source of revenue.

“Voice revenues are certainly declining and revenue generated from data is on the rise,” Abbassi said.

He added that in the next 5-10 years it is expected that data will generate more than half of companies’ revenues in the Kingdom, where Internet penetration reached 74 per cent at the end of September 2014. 

The annual Mobile World Congress, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors, will run through March 5, according to the Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association, the global trade association representing 800 operators that is holding the event.