Research published by the GSMA shows that the number of mobile devices will grow 100% within the next ten years from more than 6 billion today to 12 billion in 2020. In addition, the total number of connected devices - from laptops to remote monitoring equipment - is expected to increase from approximately 9 billion today to more than 24 billion in 2020.
The GSMA says this’ll offer mobile operators a worldwide revenue opportunity of nearly $1.2 trillion (around £750 billion) by 2020, seven times more than this year’s anticipated revenues in 2011.
Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer of the GSMA, said “We are entering the next phase in the development of the mobile industry, one where we will see mobile connect everything in our lives. In this new Connected Life, mobile will transform society and will have a profound effect on the way we interact not only with each other, but also with our surroundings. However, capitalising on this enormous opportunity requires collaboration across the entire ecosystem to demonstrate how mobile technology in everything from tablet PCs to new healthcare devices can enhance people's personal and business lives.”
Other industry areas that are expected to benefit from this mobile device growth include consumer electronics, the automotive sector, the health sector and the utilities sector.
Earlier this year, the Visual Networking Index Forecast from Cisco predicted 15 billion network-connected devices by 2015.
[GSMA Connected Life Overview]