The latest Ericsson Mobility Report has revealed that global 5G subscriptions will soar to 2.6 billion by the end of 2025. Average mobile data consumption is set to rise significantly too, the report claims, from 7.2GB to 24GB per smartphone by 2025.
The report also says that by 2025 almost two thirds of the global population (65%) will have 5G coverage, with 5G networks handling 45% of the world's mobile data traffic.
The launch of 5G networks
The report noted that several major telcos in Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North America have launched their 5G networks this year. This has geared up 5G for a huge number of new subscribers. For example, South Korea had gained more than three million subscriptions in total by the end of September, 2019. With China estimated to have more than 13 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2019.
The report predicts that 5G adoption will be much faster than that of LTE. North America is expected to see the highest growth rate, with 74% of mobile subscriptions to be 5G by 2025. Northeast Asia was expected to see the second-highest adoption, at 56%, followed by Europe at 55%.
Scaled up 5G adoption
Ericsson's executive vice president and head of networks, Fredrik Jejdling, said, "In 2020, 5G-compatible devices will enter the volume market, which will scale up 5G adoption. The question is no longer if, but how quickly we can convert use cases into relevant applications for consumers and enterprises. With 4G remaining a strong connectivity enabler in many parts of the world, modernising networks is also key to this technological change we're going through."
