5G Subscriptions to Reach 5.6 Billion by 2029

The 5G subscriptions will be close to 5.6 billion by the end of 2029 – with global 5G population coverage beyond mainland China set to double from 40% at the end of 2023 to 80% by the end of 2029, the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report said.

About 300 Communication Service Providers (CSPs) globally now offer 5G services, of which about 50 have launched 5G Standalone (5G SA). 5G continues to grow in all regions and is expected to account for about 60% of all mobile subscriptions by the end of 2029.

About 160 million 5G subscriptions were added globally in the first three months of 2024 – bringing the total to more than 1.7 billion. Almost 600 million new subscriptions are expected in 2024 as a whole, the report said.

Furthermore, the mobile network data traffic grew 25% year-on-year between the end of March 2023 and the end of March 2024, driven primarily by subscriber migration to later generations and data-intense services, such as videos.

This traffic is forecast to grow with a compound annual growth rate of about 20% through the end of 2029. About a quarter of all mobile network data was handled by 5G by the end of 2023 and this is forecast to grow to about 75% by the end of 2029.

Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, Ericsson, said that the June 2024 Ericsson Mobility Report shows continued strong uptake of 5G subscriptions.

“Enhanced Mobile Broadband and Fixed Wireless Access are the leading use cases, with signs that 5G capabilities are influencing service providers’ Fixed Wireless Access offerings. The report also highlights the need for increased deployment of 5G Standalone technology to fully realize the potential of 5G,” Jejdling explained.

FWA Grows

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) continues to grow in strength as a 5G use case for communications service providers (CSPs) globally with a sharp increase over the past year in the number of CSPs offering the service. FWA is currently second only to enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) as a 5G use case.

5G mid-band population coverage outside of mainland China has reached 35% while North America and India have made rapid deployments, topping 85% and 90% mid-band coverage respectively.

On user experience, statistics from a leading service provider (name not disclosed) revealed that 97% of all user activities on 5G mid-band achieved a time-to-content of less than 1.5 seconds, compared to 67% on 5G low-band and 38% on all 4G bands.

In the Southeast Asia and Oceania region, 5G subscriptions are predicted to reach around 560 million in the region by the end of the forecast period. 5G subscriptions in Southeast Asia stood at 61 million at the end of 2023.

The 5G subscriber base in the region continues to grow as subscribers migrate to 5G, driven by more affordable 5G devices, promotional plans, discounts and large data bundles from service providers. 5G subscriber base as a percentage of the total subscriber base has already reached over 20% in markets like Singapore, Australia, Thailand and Malaysia.  At the end of 2029, 5G mobile subscriptions are expected to reach 43% of all mobile subscriptions in the region.

Daniel Ode, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Philippines and Brunei, said that service providers in the advanced 5G markets of Australia and Singapore continued to focus on innovations in speed, coverage and differentiated services.

“Differentiated connectivity will give users, developers and enterprises the optimal level of connectivity at the right time for their needs, ensuring seamless performance and resource efficiency in the network.  High-performing programmable networks, utilizing 5G standalone (SA) architecture, provide new opportunities for service innovation and performance-based business models,” Ode added.