en.Wedoany.com Reported - According to the latest data from the Ericsson Mobility Report, global IoT connections reached 4.5 billion by the end of 2025, of which 2.6 billion were broadband and mission-critical IoT connections. The report predicts that by 2031, global cellular IoT connections will reach 8 billion, with an annual growth rate of 12.5%.
On Wednesday, April 23, Paulo Bernardocki, Director of Network Solutions for Ericsson's Southern Cone region, noted during an exchange with professional media that this growth will be driven by broadband and critical IoT, as well as technological advancements in Reduced Capability 5G (RedCap 5G) and its enhanced version (eRedCap). Bernardocki explained that RedCap 5G is beginning to gain momentum, with 14 communication service providers (CSPs) worldwide having launched commercially. eRedCap will begin testing this year and is expected to have commercial potential by 2028. He stated that in areas such as agriculture, industry, and utilities, RedCap technology will be very useful and efficient.
Although not within the scope of the Swedish supplier's analysis, Bernardocki explained that IoT has become a key driver of connection growth in Brazil. Citing data from Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), IoT connections in Brazil grew 15% year-over-year, while smartphone connections grew only 1%. Bernardocki believes that combining IoT growth with 5G growth reveals the overall development trend, and IoT is also driving global network traffic growth.
According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, monthly mobile network data traffic in the first quarter of 2026 reached 210 exabytes (EB), a 22% increase from 172 EB in the same period last year. Traffic growth remains stable at 20%, but the absolute increase is the largest since the start of this data series. Of this 210 EB, Latin America accounts for 8 EB. Considering the region's population and device installed base, Ericsson expects room for traffic growth in the region. The supplier predicts that by 2031, monthly mobile data traffic in Latin America will reach 21 EB, with a compound annual growth rate of 21%.
During the same period, Ericsson expects global mobile data traffic to grow by 2.2 times, or 2.5 times compared to 2025 when including fixed wireless access (FWA). From a technological perspective, 5G's share of traffic will increase from 48% to 85%.
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