Have you ever wondered how much the mobile scene has changed in 15 years or what’s it going to look like in 2020? Cisco Systems, Inc. has crunched the numbers and they just might surprise you.

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, global mobile data traffic will reach 367 exabytes per year by 2020, up from 44 exabytes in 2015. Much of the traffic is coming from smartphones with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of eight percent, from 32 percent to 40 percent between 2015 to 2020. The next big generator of mobile data is machine communication with other machines (M2M), growing from eight percent to 26 percent.

Aside from the growth in mobile phone use, particularly smartphones and tablets, it is projected that the average internet speeds will jump from 2.0Mbps to 6.0 Mbps globally. The growth in mobile phone users is expected to come from Middle East and Africa, with a CAGR of 4.4 percent, the largest growth compared to other regions. Mobile speed growth is also expected to come from the same region, a 6.3-fold growth from 0.8 to 4.8Mbps.

The report also determined that though we are now more mobile and consume more media while on the go, the majority of data consumption still happens at home at 52 percent compared to just five percent while on the go. Cisco’s research also showed the trajectory of our mobile dependence. In 2015, users consume an average of 746MB per month which roughly translates to four hours of video, three hours of audio, 10 video calls and four app downloads. By 2020, those numbers are multiplied almost five times as data consumption jumps to an average of 5.2GB per month, equivalent to 30 hours of video, 15 hours of audio, 20 minutes of video calls, and 40 app downloads.

Aside from predicting the growth of mobile data and mobile usage in four years, the report also compared how 15 years changed what it meant to have a mobile device.

A blast from the past

In 2000, 92 percent of activity on a mobile phone is spent on voice calls and only eight percent spent on other applications. In 2015, the numbers have been reversed as 90 percent of the time is used on apps and only 10 percent on voice calls. In 2000, an average person spent about 0.05MB of data in a month, which is what an average smartphone user consumes in a minute in 2015.

Though it’s fun looking at how mobile use has grown in 15 years, it’s quite disturbing how more people have access to this type of technology than running water. According to the report, in 2015, 4.5 billion people have access to mobile phones while only three billion people have access to running water. By 2020, the number of mobile phone owners increases to 5.4 billion while people with access to running water jumps to 3.5 billion. Though the increase, it is notable that there are still more people that would have access to mobile phones than something that sustains life.

To read the full report, click here.

Feature image by stokpic