The volume of mobile data traffic will grow to eight times 2012 levels by 2017, exceeding 107 exabytes, the equivalent of 1bn gigabytes, according to ABI Research. However, growth is expected to slow in the next few years, with 2015 the last year traffic volume will grow by “more than 50% annually”. ABI suggests that this is because many apps, especially data-hungry apps like Netflix, now include a function whereby users can limit their viewing to Wi-Fi only.

“Inadvertend data consumption has thus far been a surprisingly large source of traffic, but in the next couple of years we will see more and more relatively quick fixes in the OS and application levels,” says VP Jake Saunders. “They will substantially ease this ‘needless’ burden on networks.”