According to the latest edition of the Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) Mobility Report, 5G will account for roughly 39 percent of mobile subscriptions in India by the end of 2027, with over 500 million subscriptions, and current worldwide 5G subscriptions will reach the one billion milestone by the end of 2022.
5G is expected to account for 82 percent of subscriptions in Western Europe, 80 percent in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, and 74 percent in North East Asia by 2027, according to the schedule.
By 2027, 5G is predicted to account for roughly 40% of all subscriptions in India, where 5G deployments have yet to commence. By 2027, 5G is expected to account for nearly half of all subscribers worldwide, surpassing 4.4 billion.
In India, mobile broadband will serve as the foundation for the government’s “Digital India” plan. Mobile networks in India continue to play an important role in promoting social and economic inclusion. 4G is the most popular subscription type in India, accounting for roughly 68 percent of total mobile subscriptions and fueling India’s connectivity boom. As service providers in India prepare to launch 5G this year, 4G’s share of total mobile subscribers in India is predicted to shrink to 55 percent by 2027, from roughly 68 percent this year.
In addition, according to the report, 4G subscriptions are expected to fall annually to an anticipated 700 million in 2027 as subscribers transition to 5G following the launch of 5G in India. In India, commercial 5G networks are projected to start in the second half of 2022, with increased mobile broadband expected to be the first major use case.
“Total mobile data traffic in the India region is expected to expand by a factor of four between 2021 and 2027,” says Dr. Thiaw Seng Ng, Ericsson’s Head of Network Evolution, SEA, Oceania, and India. This is due to a surge in the number of smartphone users as well as a rise in average smartphone usage.” India has the second highest average data traffic per smartphone in the world. It is expected to expand at a 16 percent CAGR from 20GB per month in 2021 to roughly 50GB per month in 2027.
Prasanta Patnaik