Ericsson exec expects there will be 30 times more data than voice on the network by 2015, and predicts volume-based billing will be needed SAN JOSE, Calif. — Data traffic volumes have surpassed voice in the mobile space, a trend that is expected to continue well into the future, an Ericsson official said during an industry panel session in Silicon Valley Tuesday evening.Three years ago, said Ericsson CTO Hakan Eriksson, there was very little data passing over the mobile network. “Two years later, last year in the autumn, data passed voice in the mobile network,” said Eriksson, speaking at a session entitled “The March to Mobility,” which also featured executives from Intel, Nokia, and Hewlett-Packard. “It has taken data about 18 months to do what voice took 20 years to do,” in building out traffic volumes, he said.[ Also on InfoWorld: HP’s McKinney recently talked about the company’s vision for Star Wars-like projection technology. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobile Edge blog and Mobilize newsletter. ] Ericsson expects data loads to keep growing. By 2015, there will be 30 times more data than voice on the network; by 2020, data will outpace voice by 1,000 times, said Eriksson.“Data is going to overtake voice big time,” Eriksson said.Some kind of volume-based billing system will be needed for mobile services, since a flat fee does not make sense, said Eriksson. While users may not understand what a gigabyte is as a possible measurement for mobile transmissions, they already pay electric bills based on kilowatt hours, a measurement also not really understood by electricity customers, he said. Panelists also pondered form factors for mobile devices as well as location-aware systems and potential issues such as the safety of handheld phones. More touch-oriented devices are anticipated, with a range of form factors eyed, said Phil McKinney, vice president and CTO of the personal systems group at HP.“There’s really no one-size-fits-all as far as devices,” said Eric Klein, vice president of technology planning at Nokia. Not everything is practical on a handheld device, according to Mike Bell, vice president of Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group. “I think trying to read a book on a three-inch cell phone screen is ridiculous. I just don’t buy it,” Bell said. Meanwhile, handheld devices could eliminate the need to carry wallets, Klein said. Phones could maintain access to money, he explained. “You walk up and pay with a phone,” he said. Bell was critical of Apple’s iPhone App Store model for application distribution, describing it as akin to a proprietary application to look at the Internet. “It’s this giant step backwards,” he said.Panelists also were doubtful that cell phones presented any health hazards. “If there was a problem, we should have seen it with 5 billion people using [handheld phones],” Eriksson said. Tuesday’s session was presented by the Churchill Club, a Silicon business and technology forum.This article, “Mobile data traffic set to soar,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in mobile technology at InfoWorld.com. Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobile Edge blog and Mobilize newsletter. Technology Industry