COME end-2020, more than one billion people or 15% of the world’s population will live in an area that has 5G coverage rolled out while 220 million global 5G subscriptions can be expected.
Such is the forecast in the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report which also projects that four out of every 10 mobile subscriptions in 2026 will be 5G.
“Current 5G uptake in subscriptions and population coverage confirms the technology is deploying the fastest of any generation of mobile connectivity,” the report pointed out.
According to the report, 60% of the world’s population is expected to have access to 5G coverage by 2026 with 5G subscriptions forecast to reach 3.5 billion, estimated to account for more than 50% of mobile data traffic at that time.
In Southeast Asia and Oceania, 5G is predicted to be the second most popular technology in 2026 – only behind LTE (Long Term Evolution) – surpassing 380 million subscriptions and accounting for 32% of all mobile subscriptions.
“The second half of this year has also seen a number of commercial 5G launches in Southeast Asia and Oceania with live networks now in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand,” the report observed.
“Upcoming spectrum auctions planned for 2021 in countries like Vietnam and Malaysia will bring additional 5G deployments next year.”
Malaysian experience
Even as preparation is underway for the introduction of 5G in Malaysia, momentum continues in the build-out of 4G (LTE) networks in Malaysia and globally, according to Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh head David Hagerbro.
Global 4G population coverage will be over 80% at the end of 2020 and is forecast to reach around 95% in 2026.
“4G networks are also evolving to deliver increased network capacity and faster data speeds,” Hagerbro pointed out.
“5G with its benefits of low latency, high data speeds and reliability, will help service providers in Malaysia manage the growing data traffic more efficiently in the initial phase and accelerate the realization of targets for the National Digital Network (Jendela).”
According to the new Harnessing the 5G Consumer Potential report from Ericsson ConsumerLab, the 5G consumer market could be worth US$31 tril by 2030 globally with communications service providers (CSPs) earning US$3.7 tril of that total – a figure that could increase further as new adjacent digital services opportunities arise.
In Southeast Asia and Oceania, the report estimates that CSPs could earn US$297 bil in 5G-enabled consumer revenues by 2030. Meanwhile, the 5G broadband services market will be worth nearly US$229 bil during that time. – Dec 2, 2020
