STOCKHOLM — In the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, the Swedish telecom equipment provider predicts the global number of 5G subscriptions will reach 190 million by the end of 2020. By the end of 2025, global 5G subscriptions will top 2.8 billion, according to the report.
While 5G subscription growth in some markets around the world has slowed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, this is outweighed by others where it is accelerating, particularly in China, prompting Ericsson to raise its year-end 2020 forecast for global 5G subscriptions, says the news release.
The June 2020 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report also includes projections for regional 5G subscriptions. For North America, Ericsson has slightly decreased its 5G subscription forecast for 2020 and 2021, compared to previous estimates. However, North America is expected to reach the same 5G subscription figures by the end of 2025 as previously forecast — close to 325 million 5G subscriptions, accounting for 74% of mobile subscriptions in the region.
The report also forecasts fixed wireless access (FWA) connections will reach close to 160 million globally by the end of 2025, accounting for 25% of total global mobile network data traffic. At the end of 2019, global FWA data traffic was estimated to have been around 15% of the global total. Ericsson now projects global FWA data traffic will grow nearly eight-fold to reach 53 exabytes in 2025 (25% of the global total).
Ericsson’s report also takes an incisive look at the role of networks and digital infrastructure in keeping societies running and families connected during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The spread of Covid-19 has prompted people all over the world to change their daily lives and, in many cases, work or study from home. This has led to a rapid shift of network traffic from business to residential areas. The latest Ericsson Mobility Report shows that mobile and fixed networks are increasingly playing a bigger part of critical national infrastructure,” said Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice-president and head of networks at Ericsson, in the news release.
Changes in behaviour due to lockdown restrictions have caused measurable changes in the usage of both fixed and mobile networks. The largest share of the traffic increase has been absorbed by fixed residential networks, which has experienced a 20-100% growth, according to the Ericsson report. But many service providers also noticed a spike in demand on their mobile network.
The report also includes forecasts on mobile data traffic growth, plus insights into cloud-based gaming and articles on private dedicated networks and Verizon’s millimeter-wave strategy for metropolitan areas.
To download the June 2020 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, please click here.
