Desktop computers and laptops will remain the main source of Internet traffic — at 80 per cent — this year despite the huge upsurge in the use of smartphones and tablets, says a new report.

“Strong sales of smartphones and tablets have prompted suggestions that the PC is becoming an anachronism. But PCs have remained strong. The installed base of PCs should increase albeit at a slower pace in 2013” said the report by Deloitte titled Technology, Media and Telecommunications Predictions.

Telecoms analysts said the dominance of desktops and laptops cannot hold for long given the level of innovation versatility associated with smartphones and the preference for mobile devices by users.

A different study by technology firm Cisco showed that smartphones have surpassed desktops and laptops as the preferred devices. The report says that 90 per cent of global youth check their mobile phones before doing anything else in the morning.

In East Africa, dominance of the smartphone and other mobile devices over traditional PCs in connecting to the Internet is likely to increase this year with operators collaborating with phone manufacturers to roll out low-cost devices.

In these partnerships, mobile operators are eyeing increased revenue accruing from more data uptake while phone makers are targeting the growing demand for the gadgets.

For example, Safaricom —Kenya’s largest mobile operator — is selling smartphones at 20 per cent lower than the market average. The firm says the move is aimed at increasing uptake of data, especially on its 3G platform.

Telkom Orange is also involved in similar deals, hoping to drive up the demand for data on its network and raise more revenue.

READ: Kenya telecoms battle for data market on smartphones

Phone manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei and Nokia have set their sights on Africa to drive their next phase of growth.

These multi-stakeholder efforts to deepen the reach of the smartphone could finally put the PC on its death bed.

Deloitte said more than 70 per cent of the hours spent on computing devices will be on a PC.

“We are not in a post-PC era, we are in the era of PC plus,” said the report.

According to the company, more than a billion people will continue to perform the bulk of their computing on traditional PCs in 2013 due to their basic physical attributes; larger screens, better image quality, full or mid-size keyboards and track pads.

According to Deloitte, combined sales of tablets and smartphones have grown from about 350 million units to around one billion units between 2010 and 2012.

“This is greater than the volume of PCs sales — from about 350 million in 2010 to 353 million in 2011 and 355 million in 2012,” Deloitte said.

The report also predicts an upsurge in momentum behind the Long Term Evolution mobile networks, a development that could put the desktops under more pressure.

“More than 200 operators in 75 countries will have launched a Long Term Evolution network by the end of 2013. However, it will be a year of momentum rather than completion meaning that the vast majority of smartphones users are likely to still use 3G and 2.5G devices at the end of the year,” Deloitte says.

Uganda’s MTN plans to invest $70 million this year alone in the rollout of its LTE network while Kenya has adopted a public private partnership to roll out the project.

READ: Smile Telecom partners with Alcatel to offer LTE networks

With all these developments around the LTE, 3G and 2G networks, there are likely to more constraints of spectrum given that a lot of countries are yet to switch from the analogue to digital television transmission, which is expected to free up some spectrum, Deloitte points out.

Other predictions include increased challenges for standard passwords resulting in more hacking reports and the start of preparations for the next generation of high definition television.