It is estimated that it will be worth even more than Apple in only three years from now.

As smartphone penetration starts to approach its maximum possible capacity, the sales of these devices has slowed quite a bit, but at the same time, the use of the mobile internet, and its value, has been rapidly rising.

By the year 2018, smartphone sales will have dropped to less than 10 percent per year.

Over the last ten years, mobile networks have seen only 5 percent growth. That said, there are areas where growth has been sky high. Among them is in the mobile internet, which is considered to be one of the areas in which growth is the greatest in the smartphone and tablet industries. Even as Apple continues to take off and Xiaomi is headed upward, nonstop, the m-internet is reigning over them all.

A recent forecast has predicted that from now to 2018 there will be a near tripling in the revenue growth over the mobile internet.

mobile InternetThe forecast was issued by Digi-Capital, which has predicted that last year’s revenue growth of $300 billion will take off to reach $850 by the close of 2018. This means that the market over which Apple has been ruling could soon be worth more than that company, itself.

Even though the smartphone and tablet based internet is already vast, it is in a constant state of evolution. Mobile commerce is the core of its growth and it explains why many tech and financial giants are looking in that direction for their investments. These sectors, as well as mobile marketing, are playing a continual game of leapfrog with the also lucrative in-app purchasing segment. By 2018, it looks as though in-app purchases will be holding a solid second place to m-commerce’s lead.

Also contributing to that shift in the balance on the mobile internet is that app developers are currently seeking to recreate their business models in order to overcome the barriers presented by a rapidly shifting marketplace. As consumers change their expectations and demands, applications and their various revenue generating components, must redefine themselves just as quickly.