According to a new study by research firm ABI Research, by 2014 the volume of mobile data alone sent and received each month around the world will dramatically eclipse the amount of all data sent in 2008. The study notes that global mobile data surpassed 1.3 EB during 2008, but an average of 1.3 EB of mobile data will be sent and received monthly by 2014. Nearly 74 percent of the world's mobile data traffic will come from Internet access by 2014, with 26 percent from audio and video streaming.
According to the firm's Senior Analyst, Jeff Orr, "When people think of mobile data they think of BlackBerry and iPhone handsets. But the bulk of today's traffic is generated by laptops with PC Card and USB modems." While add-on cellular modems represented two-thirds of traffic in 2008, computers with embedded 3G/4G modems will lead in 2014 with more than 50 percent of the world's mobile data traffic.