Cisco tipped 5G to become a significant source of traffic on operator networks by 2022, generating nearly three-times more than a typical 4G connection.

In its latest Mobile Visual Networking Index (VNI), Cisco predicted the average 5G connection will produce 22GB of data traffic per month by 2022, compared with 8GB per month for 4G.

The next-generation connections will contribute to significant growth in monthly global mobile data traffic, which is expected to jump from 11.5 exabytes in 2017 to 77 exabytes by 2022 (an exabyte is equivalent to 1 billion gigabytes).

While 5G will account for just 3.4 per cent (422 million) of mobile connections in 2022, Cisco forecast it will carry 12 per cent of global traffic.

North America is expected to have the highest proportion of 5G connections with 9 per cent, followed by Western Europe (6 per cent) and Asia-Pacific (4 per cent). The countries with the largest share of devices on 5G connections by 2022 will be Japan (12 per cent), Sweden (11 per cent) and the US (10 per cent), Cisco said.