The Introduction of 5G Network Accelerates – 220 Million Subscriptions This Year

Despite the pandemic, the introduction of 5G functionality in networks and devices has accelerated this year, and it is expected that by the end of the year there will be 220 million global 5G subscriptions, of which 80 percent will be in China, according to forecasts from the new study "Ericsson Mobility Report-EMR".

The study also predicts that by the end of 2026, there will be around 3.5 billion 5G subscriptions worldwide, which would be about 40 percent of all mobile subscriptions and will represent more than 50 percent of mobile data traffic.

"The current growth of 5G subscriptions and population coverage confirms that this technology is being implemented faster than all previous generations of mobile technologies," say researchers in the EMR study for November this year, which also estimates that by the end of 2020, more than one billion people or 15 percent of the world’s population will live in areas with 5G coverage.

Due to the accelerated introduction of 5G, Ericsson has also raised its estimate for global 5G subscriptions at the end of 2020 to 220 million, an increase that, as they explain, is primarily the result of rapid growth in China, which reaches 11 percent of the 5G mobile subscription base. In China, 5G is a national strategic focus, and there are also more and more affordable 5G smartphones from several suppliers.

Things are also accelerating in the US, where researchers expect North America to end 2020 with about four percent of 5G mobile subscriptions, while by 2026 it could reach 80 percent, making the US the leader among all global regions.

Europe, according to projections in the study, will end 2020 with about one percent of 5G subscriptions, with some countries, including Croatia, having postponed auctions for radio spectrum/frequencies needed to support stronger 5G implementation to 2021 due to the pandemic.

The study emphasizes that 5G will not be limited only to numbers related to coverage or subscriptions, but that this technology will also determine new user applications for both private and business life, as well as for public institutions in various sectors.

They also note that the speed of introducing 5G New Radio (NR) functionality is increasing with more than 150 commercially available 5G device models.

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