June 2022 Ericsson Mobility Report: Global 5G subscriptions to reach 1 billion by the end of this year

In the latest Ericsson Mobility Report—22nd edition of our industry projections and trend analysis—we continue to follow the evolution of the telecom industry, where 5G is scaling faster than any previous mobile generation.

The report reveals that about a quarter of the world’s population currently has access to 5G coverage. Some 70 million 5G subscriptions were added during the first quarter of 2022 alone. By 2027, about three-quarters of the world’s population will be able to access 5G.

In North America, 5G grew strongly in 2021, adding around 64 million subscriptions as migration from 4G to 5G subscriptions picked up pace significantly. 5G is the only growing subscription type and is expected to reach 250 million at the end of 2023. Our forecast— based on past and current data and validated with extensive network measurements— predicts that North America will lead the world in 5G subscription penetration, with 400 million subscriptions expected by 2027.

We also see a strong growth when it comes to mobile data traffic. Globally, mobile network data traffic has doubled in the last two years, driven by continuing growth in smartphone usage, mobile broadband and the digitalization of societies and industries. By the end of 2022, the average monthly usage per smartphone is expected to surpass 15GB, and then grow to 40GB by the end of 2027.

In North America, the average monthly usage per smartphone is expected to surpass 18GB by the end of 2022, and then grow to 52GB by the end of 2027.

These statistics and forecasts highlight the strong demand data connectivity and digital services have, and are expected to continue to have, despite the global COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Additional findings from the report

• Fixed wireless access (FWA) is an area growing in importance, and more than 75 percent of service providers surveyed are now offering 5G services. The strongest increase was in North America, where 60 percent of all service providers surveyed now offer 5G FWA. FWA connections are expected to exceed 100 million this year—a number forecast to more than double by 2027.

• Broadband IoT (4G/5G) overtook 2G and 3G as the technology that connects the largest share of all cellular IoT connected devices, accounting for 44 percent of all connections.

• Massive IoT technologies (NB-IoT, Cat-M) increased by almost 80 percent during 2021, reaching close to 330 million connections. The number of IoT devices connected by these technologies is expected to overtake 2G/3G in 2023.

• Around the world, 5G will account for 82 percent of subscriptions in Western Europe, 80 percent in the Gulf Cooperation Council region and 74 percent in Northeast Asia. In India, where 5G deployments have yet to begin, 5G is expected to account for nearly 40 percent of all subscriptions by 2027.

• Globally, 5G is forecast to make up almost half of all subscriptions by 2027, topping 4.4 billion.

The report also contains in-depth articles on the following topics:

• Unleashing the power of IoT connectivity

• The evolution of MTN’s connectivity platform

• Enabling demanding use cases with communications service provider (CSP) edge computing

• Securing 5G networks in an evolving threat landscape

Download the complete June 2022 Ericsson Mobility Report at t.eric.sn/3CffqZe