Video: Voice vs Data

Smartphones make up the majority of mobile broadband devices today. By 2020, subscriptions are expected to have doubled and 70 percent of the world’s population will have a smartphone. That’s quite staggering when you think about it. (Source: Ericsson)

In our latest GDS Video Snack, Sasha Qadri, Editor at MeetTheBoss TV asks if the voice feature of smartphones could become redundant.

Smartphones make up the majority of mobile broadband devices today. By 2020, subscriptions are expected to have doubled and 70 percent of the world’s population will have a smartphone. That’s quite staggering when you think about it. (Source: Ericsson)

At the same time, the rationale for having a smartphone will evolve –  will they be in demand for data or for voice? Already – in the developed world – it’s all about the data. We want faster video streaming, Instagram, internet…on the go. All those power hungry LTE devices demand more battery power, which is why smartphones are becoming bigger. Some would say smartphones are not really phones at all, just versions of a tablet. Which makes you wonder – do you really need a voice plan at all or could you survive just with data?

Mobile data traffic in the first quarter of 2015 was 55 percent higher than the year before while voice traffic was flat. (Source: Ericsson). Clearly, it varies between markets, regions and operators.  But that trend will only intensify as we deal with the data explosion that has already begun.

Data communications are not only overpowering traditional voice communications, but even cannibalising them to a certain extent. The irony is that the “phone” within smartphones may soon become redundant.

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