In its recently-published Mobility Report, Ericsson forecast that the number of 5G mobile subscriptions will surpass 1 billion by the end of 2022. By 2027, that number will grow to 4.4 billion, about three-quarters of the world's population, according to the Swedish tech company.
The June 2022 Ericsson Mobility Report also verifies that “5G is scaling faster than any previous mobile generation” with some 70 million new subscribers recorded in the first quarter of 2022 alone. The report explains that the increase in subscriptions is due to the rapid growth of smartphones and mobile broadband, in addition to digitalization.
By 2027, Ericsson anticipates 90% of subscriptions will be in North America, 82% in Western Europe. However, in regards to sub-Saharan Africa, 5G is still at the beginning. For the time being, most of the subscribers go to 4G services, which grew by 26% in 2021. Over the next five years, the “total mobile broadband subscriptions are predicted to increase, reaching 78% of mobile subscriptions,” Ericsson said.
In a previous report, the tech company estimated that mobile ultra-broadband subscriptions would exceed 70 million in sub-Saharan Africa by 2027. “In several regions, deployment of 5G standalone networks is also picking up pace, as communications service providers prepare for innovation to address the business opportunities beyond enhanced mobile broadband. A solid digital network infrastructure underpins enterprises’ digital transformation plans, and their new capabilities can be turned into new customer services,” said Peter Jonsson, Executive Editor, Ericsson Mobility Report.
