Posted by New Delhi: India is yet to witness 5G deployments, but the latest Ericsson Mobility Report 2022 expects 5G to make nearly 40% of all subscriptions in India by 2027.
Compared to the rest of the world, North America is expected to lead in 5G subscription penetration globally with nine-of-every-ten subscriptions expected to be 5G by 2027.
As per the 2027- timeline, the report estimates that 5G will account for 82% of subscriptions in Western Europe, 80% in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and 74% in North-East Asia.
In global terms, the report forecast 5G to account for almost 50% of all subscriptions by 2027, topping 4.4 billion subscriptions.
Global mobile network data traffic doubled in the past two years. 4.4 billion 5G subscriptions are expected by 2027, according to the 22nd edition of Ericsson’s network traffic insights and forecast.
The report indicates that increased smartphone and mobile broadband usage, along with the digitalisation of society and industries has accelerated the data traffic growth.
Also, these recent stats and forecasts are indicative of strong demand for data connectivity and digital services despite the global Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties. Several hundred million people are becoming new mobile broadband subscribers every year.
In India, mobile broadband is the foundation on which the government’s “Digital India” initiative will be realized, finds the report. Mobile networks in India continue to play a pivotal role in driving social and economic inclusion, as service providers in India prepare to launch 5G this year.
4G is the dominant subscription type driving connectivity growth in India. Currently, 4G contributes around 68% of India’s total mobile subscriptions. But the report expects 4G’s contribution to fall to 55% in 2027 with 5G deployments and subscriptions. As the report, 5G to make nearly 40% of all subscriptions in India by 2027.
Once 5G is introduced in India, 4G subscriptions are expected to decline annually to an estimated 700 million subscriptions in 2027. This is likely because of the emergence of 5G subscriptions and migrations.
Commercial launches of 5G networks are planned for the second half of 2022 in India. Initially, this will mainly lead to enhanced mobile broadband.
5G will represent around 39% of mobile subscriptions in the India and Oceania region at the end of 2027, with about 500 million subscriptions.
“Total mobile data traffic in the India region is estimated to grow by a factor of 4 between 2021 and 2027. This is driven by high growth in the number of smartphone users and an increase in average usage per smartphones,” states Dr Thiaw Seng Ng, Head of Network Evolution, SEA, Oceania and India, Ericsson.
The average data traffic per smartphone in the India region is the second-highest globally. From 20GB per month in 2021, the average data traffic per smartphone is expected to grow around 50GB per month in 2027 – a CAGR of 16%.