Ericsson has released the twenty-second edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, which expects 4.4 billion 5G subscriptions by 2027, accounting for nearly half of all subscriptions worldwide.
The report also shows that global data traffic over mobile networks has doubled in the past two years. This traffic growth was driven by the increased use of smartphones and mobile broadband and the digitization of society and industries. Recent statistics and forecasts highlight the strong demand for data connectivity and digital services, despite the global Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties. Hundreds of millions of people become new mobile broadband subscribers every year.
The June 2022 Ericsson Mobility Report also confirms that 5G is scaling faster than any previous generations of mobile technology. About a quarter of the world’s population has access to 5G coverage. Back 70 million 5G subscriptions were added in the first quarter of 2022 alone. According to the report, about three-quarters of the world’s population will have access to 5G by 2027.
The 2027 timeline also forecasts that 5G will account for 82% of subscriptions in Western Europe, 80% in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, and 74% in Northeast Asia.
The Southeast Asia and Oceania region continues to show strong 5G momentum, with 15 commercial 5G mobile networks operating in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines. There were approximately 15 million 5G subscriptions at the end of 2021, expected to double by 2022. As more network deployments occur in the coming years, 5G mobile subscriptions are expected to grow at a CAGR of 83% over the forecast period, reaching 570 million in 2027.
North America is expected to lead the world in 5G subscription penetration over the next five years, with nine out of ten subscriptions in the region expected to be 5G by 2027.
In India, where 5G deployments have yet to begin, 5G is expected to account for nearly 40% of all subscriptions by 2027.
“The latest Ericsson Mobility Report confirms that 5G is the fastest growing generation of mobile technology ever, and Ericsson plays a key role in making this possible,” said Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of networks, Ericsson.
“We work every day with our customers and ecosystem partners around the world to ensure that millions more people, businesses, industries, and societies can enjoy the benefits of 5G connectivity as soon as possible,” he says.
Peter Jonsson, the executive editor of Ericsson Mobility Report, Ericsson, added: “The deployment of 5G standalone (SA) networks is increasing in many regions as communication service providers (CSPs) gear up for innovation to address the business opportunities beyond enhanced mobile broadband.
“A solid digital network infrastructure supports enterprises’ digital transformation plans, and their new capabilities can be translated into new customer service,” he says.
The report also highlights Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) ‘s an increasingly important role in delivering broadband services. Ericsson predicts that the number of FWA connections will exceed 100 million by 2022, a figure expected to more than double by 2027 to nearly 230 million.
On the Internet of Things (IoT), the report notes that broadband IoT (4G/5G) will overtake 2G and 3G as the technology connecting most mobile IoT-connected devices by 2021, accounting for 44% of all connections.
Massive IoT technologies (NB-IoT, Cat-M) grew by nearly 80% in 2021, reaching almost 330 million connections. The number of IoT devices connected by these technologies is expected to overtake 2G/3G by 2023.