According to Ericsson, around 300 communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide are currently offering 5G services, of which around 50 have launched 5G standalone.
Outside mainland China, global 5G population coverage is expected to reach 40% by the end of 2023.
In the first three months of 2024, approximately 160 million 5G subscribers were added worldwide, bringing the total to more than 1.7 billion.
Throughout 2024, approximately 600 million new subscriptions are expected.
Data traffic on mobile networks grew 25% year-on-year between the end of March 2023 and the end of March 2024. This is mainly due to subscriber migration to next generation and data-intensive services such as video.
By the end of 2023, around a quarter of all mobile network data will be carried by 5G.
Fredrik Jedling, EVP and head of networks at Ericsson, said the June 2024 Ericsson Mobility Report shows that 5G subscription adoption remains strong.
“Enhanced mobile broadband and fixed wireless access (FWA) are the leading use cases, and there are signs that 5G capabilities are influencing service providers’ FWA services,” said Yeadling. “The report also highlights the need for increased deployment of 5G standalone technologies to realize the full potential of 5G.”
Fixed wireless access continues to gain momentum as a 5G use case for CSPs around the world, with the number of CSPs offering the service exponentially increasing over the past year. FWA is now the second-largest 5G use case after enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB).
5G mid-band population coverage outside mainland China has reached 35%. North America and India are rolling out rapidly, with mid-band coverage exceeding 85% and 90%, respectively.
In terms of user experience, statistics from a major service provider show that 97% of all user activities on 5G mid-band achieved content display times of less than 1.5 seconds, compared to 67% on 5G low-band and 38% on 4G (all bands).
Southeast Asia’s 5G subscriber base will reach 61 million by the end of 2023. The number of 5G subscribers in the region continues to grow as more affordable 5G devices, promotional plans, discounts, and larger data bundles from service providers encourage subscribers to migrate to 5G.
Additionally, markets such as Singapore, Australia, Thailand and Malaysia already have 5G subscribers accounting for more than 20% of total subscribers.
Although 5G population coverage is expanding, 5G mid-band has only been deployed at approximately 25% of sites worldwide outside mainland China. 5G mid-band spectrum offers a balance of both coverage and capacity, while also improving user experience.
As 5G matures, the focus of many service providers is expected to shift to developing differentiated connectivity services.
Daniel Aude, head of Ericsson Singapore, Philippines and Brunei, said service providers in the advanced 5G markets of Australia and Singapore continue to focus on innovating on speed, coverage and differentiated services.
“Differentiated connectivity allows users, developers and businesses to access the optimal level of connectivity at the right time for their needs, ensuring seamless performance and resource efficiency across the network,” Audet said.
“High-performance programmable networks, leveraging 5G Standalone (SA) architecture, will offer new opportunities for service innovation and performance-based business models,” he added.
Data traffic per smartphone user in Southeast Asia is predicted to reach 17GB per month by 2023.
