ABI Research's (www.abiresearch.com) inaugural In-Building Wireless Data Traffic forecasts that rapidly increasing offload of cellular traffic to Wi-Fi will reach over 17 exabytes per month by 2018 – greater than all of 2G, 3G, and 4G cellular traffic combined.

"With the majority of mobile traffic either originating or terminating indoors, Wi-Fi becomes a viable and robust access technology for 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile operators," says Nick Marshall, research director. "This is true whether the traffic is residential, which accounts for the majority of mobile traffic, enterprise, or venue."

In-building wireless data traffic will grow at a double-digit rate to reach more than 50 exabytes per month worldwide in 2020. Asia-Pacific will continue to consume almost half the worldwide in-building wireless traffic throughout the forecast period thanks to the large population in the region and its extensive Wi-Fi, 4G, and leading edge 5G deployments.

Video remains the dominant traffic type with traffic volume outstripping all other traffic types, while in the enterprise and commercial segment sports venues, transportation and healthcare continue to be the verticals which transport the most traffic with shopping malls and hospitality coming in a close second place.

According to ABI Research’s new market data, North America is the region with the most DAS spend followed by Asia-Pacific and Europe, respectively.