A new GSMA report forecasts that the number of 5G subscribers is expected to reach 1 billion this year.
5G is expected to account for around a quarter of total mobile connections by the end of 2025, and more than two in five people worldwide will live within reach of a 5G network, GSMA says in its annual Global Mobile Economy Report.
“5G adoption continues to grow rapidly in pioneer markets. Momentum has been boosted by a number of factors, including the economic recovery from the pandemic, rising 5G handset sales, network coverage expansions and overall marketing efforts by mobile operators. Meanwhile, a new wave of 5G rollouts in large markets with modest income levels (such as Brazil, Indonesia and India) could further incentivize the mass production of more affordable 5G devices, which in turn could further bolster subscriber growth,” GSMA said.
In North America, GSMA says that 5G technology will account for 63% of total mobile subscribers in 2025, up from 13% in 2021, while 5G subscriptions in Europe will represent 44% of total mobile subscribers in 2025, up from 4% last year.
In China, meanwhile, 5G will represent 52% of the country’s total mobile subscribers base in 2025 compared to 29% in 2021, while this technology will account for 14% of the total base, up from 2% last year.
The report noted that operators around the world began their 5G deployment efforts with the Non-Standalone (NSA) version of the technology. However, the industry body said that 5G Standalone (SA) deployments are beginning to ramp up. “At the end of 2021, there were 22 commercial 5G SA networks in 16 countries around the world, with several more expected to go live in the coming years. The added functionalities enabled by 5G SA are key to delivering on the 5G promise of fully supporting enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive IoT use cases,” GSMA said.
The report also highlighted that 4G technology still has room to grow in most developing markets, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where 4G adoption is still below a fifth of total connections and operators are stepping up efforts to migrate existing 2G and 3G customers to 4G networks. “However, rising 5G adoption in leading markets, such as China, South Korea and the US, means that 4G adoption on a global level is beginning to decline,” GSMA added. Globally, 4G adoption will account for 55% of total connections by 2025, down from a peak of 58% in 2021.
By the end of 2021, 5.3 billion people subscribed to mobile services, representing 67% of the global population, according to the report.
In 2021, mobile technologies and services generated $4.5 trillion of economic value added, or 5% of GDP, globally. This figure will grow by more than $400 billion by 2025 to nearly $5 trillion. “5G is expected to benefit all economic sectors of the global economy during this period, with services and manufacturing experiencing the most impact,” GSMA said.
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