According to the most recent Ericsson Mobility Report, which was published in June 2023, communication service providers throughout the world are constantly investing in 5G technology despite difficulties brought on by geopolitics and macroeconomic downturn in some areas. According to the analysis, North America will lead the world in 5G subscriber penetration by the end of 2022, with a rate of 41%. This acceptance of 5G subscriptions has surpassed earlier predictions.
In addition, the analysis shows that 5G subscriptions are steadily increasing across all regions, with an estimated 1.5 billion subscriptions by the end of 2023. The average monthly consumption of a smartphone is expected to surpass 20 GB by the end of 2023, as the amount of data traffic on mobile networks worldwide keeps growing.
The report also focuses on notable 5G markets that have had consistent revenue growth. “The global adoption of 5G technology has exceeded one billion subscriptions, resulting in favourable revenue growth for leading 5G markets,” says Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson, in highlighting the favourable effect of 5G technology on communication service providers. Service income has a direct correlation with the growth in 5G subscriptions. Five percent more money has been made over the last two years thanks to the launch of 5G services in the top twenty markets. The growing value of 5G, which will help both users and service providers, is highlighted by this trend.
Around 35 communication service providers (CSPs) have deployed or launched 5G standalone (SA) networks, making up the majority of the around 240 CSPs who have commercially launched 5G services worldwide. Notably, CSPs frequently provide a variety of packaged packages that include well-liked entertainment services like television, music streaming, or cloud gaming platforms. Currently, various formats of such packaged bundles are offered by around 58% of 5G service providers.
The research also mentions 5G as a driver of innovation in mobile service packaging. This is demonstrated by the rising number of CSPs providing Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services over 5G, with more than 100 providers presently providing FWA over 5G, or over 40% of all FWA service providers.
As the number of connections and traffic per connection keep rising, FWA is expanding significantly in terms of the number of mobile service providers offering it, the percentage of providers offering FWA over 5G, the percentage of CSPs implementing speed-based tariff structures, and the volume of traffic served. It is anticipated that by 2028, over 80% of all FWA connections would be 5G-based.
The June 2023 Ericsson Mobility Report also includes four in-depth articles examining a variety of subjects, such as how traffic patterns affect network evolution, the possibility of differentiated services in 5G networks, the advancements made possible by mobile networks in the adoption of augmented reality (AR), and the readiness of mobile networks to provide a higher quality of experience for users.
