5G momentum continues
Ericsson Mobility Report Nov-2019
5G goes from strength to strength as networks are built out across the world. A big uptake of 5G subscriptions has taken place in South Korea, with around 3 million subscribers recorded in just a few months. Globally, we estimate 5G subscriptions for the end of 2019 will reach 13 million.
In perspective, what has happened in 2019 doesn’t determine the success of 5G but rather indicates what is to come. When looking at the development in this industry over the last few years it is truly astonishing to see the progress. The 5G specifications were accelerated in 3GPP, leading to device and infrastructure vendors taking on the challenge to deliver
5G earlier than expected. It is encouraging to see that 5G now has broad support from almost all device makers, and a very strong ecosystem.
Together with SK Telecom we take a closer look at the deployment strategies used to capture early benefits of 5G. We also examine communications service provider tariff plans and how they are evolving. So far, a majority of the launch markets are charging a premium averaging almost 20 percent for 5G subscriptions.
Today most of the investments, traffic and subscriptions are in 2G, 3G or 4G networks. Modernizing existing networks, improving network performance and increasing user experience continue to be at the core of every service provider’s day-to-day business. Together with MTN, we explore how this is achieved in two African markets.
By 2025, we expect 5G to have 2.6 billion subscriptions covering up to 65 percent of the world’s population and generating 45 percent of the world’s total mobile data traffic.
©2019 Ericsson AB