We're Going to Consume a Ton of Data in the Future

Even in a future with access 5G coverage, most tech users will still be massive data hogs, a report found. 

Ericsson released its June 2017 Mobility Report and revealed its predictions for the future of tech usage, and according to their estimates, it's going to increase.

According to the report, by the end of the year, North American tech users will consume on average 6.9 GB per month. But Ericsson also estimates in five years time that number will increase to about 26 GB per month.

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What does 26 GB get you? According to the Verizon's Data Calculator, that amount is equal to about two and a half hours of 4G video streaming per day. You could watch a 'Lord of the Rings' film every day with that much data.

5G coverage is coming to help handle all that data consumption, but it's still years away. The Ericsson report estimates 15 percent of the globe will have 5G in 2022. North America will have slightly more 5G access with 25 percent of mobile subscriptions will be for 5G.

And that 5G will also be necessary for the predicted increase in the size of the internet of things. At the end of 2016, there was 67 million connected internet of things devices. By 2022, there could be more than 213 million.