Though the world has slowed down due to the pandemic, the 5G technology is still advancing at great speeds around the globe. According to a report from Ericsson, more than half a billion people will be using 5G by the end of 2021, and people are using a great amount of data! Ericsson publishes its mobility report twice a year. In its latest report, it was predicted that there will be around 580 million 5G subscriptions by the end of the year, which is around 220 million more than double that of 2020’s count. It also added that by the end of 2026, 5G subscriptions would make around 40% of all the global subscriptions, with over 3.5 billion subscribers globally.
In an interview ahead of the mobility report’s release, Patrick Cerwall, the head of Strategic Marketing Insights at Ericsson said,
5G is, of course, is happening… despite the pandemic and what you could have expected over more of a slower technology evolution”. He also added, “It’s actually the opposite. I think everyone sees the need for technology. That adds up to 1 million 5G subscribers added every day in the world.
The Sweden-based networking gear-making company mentioned in its report that an average smartphone user uses more than around 10GB of data every month. Mobile network data is also observed to grow exponentially. It faced an increase of around 46% between the first quarters of 2020 and 2021. Taking advantage of the pandemic, the carriers easily built their 5G networks across the globe. The development of 5G networks is happening pretty fast when compared to the 4G’s development, which took place a decade ago.
5G networks are launched by more than 160 service providers to date, and around 300 5G phones are available in the market. China continues to top the tables in terms of the number of people using this technology. Ericsson’s report also projected that the country will hold 404 million 5G subscribers! Though China, Japan, and South Korea are topping the table, Cerwall predicts that North America and the Gulf Region can catch up with the table-toppers and reach around 60 million 4G subscribers at the end of the year.