India to get 5G subscriptions in 2022: Ericsson Mobility Report

By Xite - November 25, 2019
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In the Ericsson Mobility Report, the Swedish telecom giant has said that 5G will cover up to 65 per cent of the world’s population by the end of 2025 and handle 45 per cent of global mobile data tra....

5G subscriptions are expected to become available in 2022 and will represent 11 per cent of mobile subscriptions at the end of 2025 in India, Ericsson has said in the Ericsson Mobility Report. It added that LTE (popularly known as 4G) is forecast to represent 80 per cent of mobile subscriptions by the end of 2025, and LTE subscriptions are forecast to increase by 150 million during 2019.

According to Nitin Bansal, Head of Network Solutions for the Market Area South-East Asia, Oceania and India, modernising existing networks, improving network performance and increasing user experience will continue to be at the core of every service provider’s day-to-day business. The Swedish telecommunications giant says that mobile broadband technologies will account for 57 per cent of mobile subscriptions at the end of the year. ‘Low prices for mobile broadband services, affordable smartphones and people’s changing video viewing habits have continued to drive monthly usage growth in the region,’ Bansal added. 

In the India region, the average monthly mobile data usage per smartphone has become the highest in the world. Ericsson says that by 2025, 500 million additional smartphone users are expected in India and total traffic is projected to triple, reaching 22 Exabyte (EB) per month in 2025. This is said to come from two factors: high growth in the number of smartphone users and an increase in average usage per smartphone.

On a global level, Ericsson expects the number of 5G subscriptions will top 2.6 billion within the next six years. The average monthly data-traffic-per-smartphone is forecast to increase from the current figure of 7.2GB to 24GB by the end of 2025. The report also projects that 5G will cover up to 65 per cent of the global population by the end of 2025.

‘It is encouraging to see that 5G now has broad support from almost all device makers. 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,’ Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, Ericsson, said in a statement.

Given the current momentum, 5G subscription uptake is expected to be significantly faster than that of LTE, the company notes. The most rapid uptake is expected in North America with 74 per cent of mobile subscriptions in the region forecast to be 5G by the end of 2025. North East Asia is expected to follow at 56 per cent, with Europe at 55 per cent.

When it comes to IoT connections that are said to become a standard with 5G are now seen at five billion by the end of 2025 from 1.3 billion by end 2019 – a compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent.

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