Internet - 50 billion devices by 2020

Global demand for 50 billion Internet connected devices in 2020, says Ericsson Taiwan

There will be estimated global demand for 50 billion Internet connected devices of various types in 2020, including handsets, desktop PCs, notebooks, MIDs (mobile Internet devices), digital cameras and other kinds of consumer electronics products, and this will afford a large volume of business opportunities for Taiwan-based hardware makers, according to Ericsson Taiwan president Stefan Johansson.

The number of mobile communications subscribers worldwide has exceeded four billion in 2008, representing a penetration rate of 59%, Johansson quoted data from market research firms as indicating.

The data indicated that the global mobile subscribers are likely to top seven billion by 2014. In addition, about 90% of new mobile subscribers enrolled during the 2009-2014 period are likely to come from the markets in Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Global sales of MIDs alone are expected to reach 100 million units in 2013 and the market for consumer devices incorporated with an HSPA module will also have a great potential, the Chinese-language Commercial Times quoted Johansson as saying.

According to Ericsson data, the global HSPA-enabled mobile subscribers totaled 180 million, including 2.1 million in Taiwan, Johansson noted.

Ericsson's interoperability testing center (IOT) center in Taiwan is now offering the IOT services for GSM, DEGE, WCDMA and HSPA mobile devices, said Johansson, noting that the center will be also ready to offer related services for LTE (Long Term Evolution) CPE products should Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) decide to release LTE licenses to telecom service providers.