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A new report has revealed that the number of mobile connections across the globe will hit 9.5 billion in four years time.
Research by iGR (via PhoneArena) reckons that the year 2019 will see a massive leap from the current 6.9 billion.
It’s worth noting that mobile connections aren’t just limited to your smartphone; other directly connected devices are also included, for example tablets, cars, and smartwatches.
The report also reckons we’ll see global mobile penetration rise from today’s 96.4 per cent, all the way up to a staggering 125 per cent by 2019.
While a market penetration over 100 per cent might sound confusing, it’s because there’s a growing number of individuals that own multiple devices.
That’s helped by the fact that the ‘Internet of Things’ is helping create more smart devices that come with a connectivity option.
Related: The Internet of Things will 'create a single human family', economist predicts
The research also points to a big uptake in 3G and 4G networks, with a shift away from 2G standards.
Last year, 4G handled just 6 per cent of data connections, while 2G accounted for around half.
The report specifically cites North America as being ahead in 4G/LTE networks, but that other countries will begin catching up by 2019.
Another interesting point was that in some countries, smartphones were the only way to connect to the internet for many people, cementing mobile devices as a primary communication tool.