This document is a scheduled update to some sections of the Ericsson Mobility Report, released in November 2012. To view or download a copy of the original report, please visit http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson-mobility-report. We will continue to share traffic and market data, along with our analysis, on a regular basis.

1. INTERIM UPDATE
ERICSSON
MOBILITY
REPORT
ON THE PULSE OF THE NETWORKED SOCIETY
This document is a scheduled update to some sections of
the Ericsson Mobility Report, released in November 2012. subscriptions
To view or download a copy of the original report, please visit 140 million net
www.ericsson.com/ericsson-mobility-report additions in
We will continue to share traffic and market data, along with Q4 2012.
our analysis, on a regular basis.
TRAFFIC
Data traffic grew by
28% between Q3
and Q4 2012.
February 2013

2. Mobile
subscriptions update
Figure 1: Mobile subscriptions
by region, Q4 2012
NET ADDITIONS (MILLION)
140
million
net additions
Q4 2012
31 31 30
15
11
8 9
2 2
276
361
531
642
713 680
754
1,120
1,260
MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS (MILLlON)
Source: Ericsson (February 2013)
Figure 1
Mobile subscription figures are estimates as of Q4 2012. Mobile Indian subscriptions have been adjusted to reflect active
net additions are estimates during Q4 2012. APAC = Asia Pacific. subscriptions as defined by the telecom regulatory authority in India.
The estimate of mobile net additions has been made based on This better reflects real subscriber growth at a time when India’s
historic information from external sources and regulatory and operators have been deleting inactive subscriptions.
operator reports, combined with Ericsson analysis. Historical All measurements are rounded up or down to the nearest million.
data may be revised when operators report updated figures. The sum of all rounded regional data may therefore differ slightly
from the rounded total.
2 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT INTERIM UPDATE FEBRUARY 2013

3. lobal mobile penetration reached 89 percent
G In Q4, mobile broadband subscriptions1 grew
in Q4 2012 and mobile subscriptions now total ~125 million to 1.5 billion, reflecting a
around 6.3 billion. However, the actual number 50 percent year-on-year increase.
of subscribers is around 4.4 billion, since many
There is continued strong momentum for
people have several subscriptions.
smartphone uptake in all regions. Approximately
China alone accounted for ~22 percent of net 40 percent of all mobile phones sold during
additions, adding around 30 million subscriptions. 2012 were smartphones, compared to around
30 percent for the full year 2011. Only around
India (+11 million), Bangladesh (+9 million),
15-20 percent of the worldwide installed base of
Indonesia (+8 million), and Nigeria (+5 million)
mobile phone subscriptions uses smartphones,
follow in terms of net additions.
which means that there is considerable room for
Mobile subscriptions have grown around further uptake.
nine percent year-on-year and two percent
GSM/GPRS/EDGE subscriptions grew ~44 million
quarter-on-quarter.
and WCDMA/HSPA grew ~70 million. Together
these technologies represent ~80 percent of total
net additions. LTE subscriptions grew from
14 million to 57 million.
Figure 2: Penetration percentage Q4 2012
Central Eastern Europe 133%
Western Europe 128%
Latin America 112%
Middle East 106%
North America 103%
APAC (excluding China India) 99%
China 82%
Africa 70%
India 56%
Global penetration 89%
Source: Ericsson (February 2013)
1
Mobile broadband includes handsets, tablets, mobile PCs and mobile routers for the following technologies:
HSPA, LTE, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Mobile WiMAX and TD-SCDMA
SUBSCRIPTIONS VS SUBSCRIBERS
There is a large difference between the number of subscriptions before inactive subscriptions are removed from operator databases.
and subscribers. This is due to the fact that many subscribers have Consequently, subscription penetration can easily reach above
several subscriptions. Reasons for this could include users lowering 100 percent, which is the case in many countries today. It should
their traffic cost by using optimized subscriptions for different types however be noted that in some developing regions, it is common for
of calls, maximizing coverage, having different subscriptions for several people to share one subscription, having for example a family
mobile PCs/tablets and for mobile phones. In addition, it takes time or village phone.
INTERIM UPDATE FEBRUARY 2013 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT 3

4. Mobile traffic
update
Global traffic in mobile networks Figure 3: Global total data traffic in mobile networks, 2007-2012
Figure 3 shows total monthly data
traffic. It depicts stable growth Source: Ericsson (February 2013)
with some seasonal variations. 1400
Mobile data subscriptions will
grow strongly and drive the 1200
increase in data traffic, along with a
continuous increase in the average
Total (uplink + downlink) monthly traffic (PetaBytes)
1000
data volumes per subscription.
Highlights include: 800
ata traffic doubling between
D
600
Q4 2011 and Q4 2012
uarterly growth of 28 percent
Q 400
between Q3 2012 and Q4 2012
200
It should be noted that there
are big differences in traffic 0
levels between markets, regions Q1
07
Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
07 07 07 08 08 08 08 09 09 09 09 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12
and operators.
These measurements have been
performed by Ericsson over
several years using a large base
of commercial networks that
together cover all regions of the x2 28%
world. They form a representative
base for calculating world total Mobile Data traffic Mobile Data traffic
doubled between growth between
traffic in mobile networks2. Q4 2011 and Q4 2012 Q3 2012 and Q4 2012
2
Traffic does not include DVB-H, Wi-Fi, or Mobile WiMax.
The contents of this document are based on a number of theoretical dependencies and assumptions and Ericsson shall not be bound by or
liable for any statement, representation, undertaking or omission made in this document. Furthermore Ericsson may at any time change the
contents of this document at its sole discretion and shall not be liable for the consequences of such changes.
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