Half of the world's population will be in reach of super-fast 4G mobile broadband networks by 2017, according to Ericsson.

The communications technology firm's latest Traffic and Market Report predicted significant growth for 4G over the next five years and claimed global data traffic will increase 15 times by the end of 2017.

As well as forecasting a rise in 4G access, Ericsson said 3G services will be in reach of 85 per cent of the population by that year, with almost nine billion mobile subscriptions - up from six billion at the end of 2011.

Douglas Gilstrap, senior vice president and head of strategy at Ericsson, said: "Today, people see access to the internet as a prerequisite for any device. This mindset results in growing demand for mobile broadband and increased data traffic."

The report comes in the same week Ericsson discovered that network quality, coverage and data service pricing are among the most important reasons for consumers to choose a specific mobile broadband plan.

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