Computerworld - Cisco Systems Inc. has been saying for years that mobile video data traffic is exploding, and the networking company now predicts that video content will account for 66% of all mobile data traffic by 2014.
Cisco's prediction is based on a summary of independent analysts' forecasts and real-world data usage studies, which project that there will be more than 5 billion personal devices running on mobile networks in four years. That figure includes many devices, like the Apple iPad, that are just now emerging -- devices that are expected to handle a good deal of video data. Cisco said that smartphones and laptop air cards will drive 90% of the global mobile traffic by 2014.
The Cisco forecast says that the amount of mobile video alone will have grown by a factor of 66 between 2009 and 2014.
The total volume of mobile data traffic will amount to 3.6 exabytes per month in 2014, having grown at a rate of 108% per year between 2009 and 2014, according to the forecast.
The company said the average mobile broadband connection today generates 1.3GB a month, the equivalent of about 650 MP3 music files. By 2014, according to the forecast, the average mobile connection will generate 7GB per month, equal to about 3,500 MP3 music files.
Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at 
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