Ericsson has updated its forecast for 5G subscribers this year in its latest Mobility Report. The company now expects 190 million 5G customers by year-end, thanks to faster-than-expected take-up in China. This will offset slightly slower 5G growth in other parts of the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Some 5G spectrum auctions have been delayed in Europe, and Ericsson also expects slightly slower 5G customer growth in North America in 2020 and 2021. Nevertheless, these regions should make up the difference over the five-year forecast period and still meet the previous expectations for 5G customers in 2025, Ericsson said.
Over the forecast period, 5G subscription uptake is expected to be significantly faster than that of LTE following its launch back in 2009. Key factors are China’s earlier engagement with 5G, as well as the earlier availability of devices from several vendors. By the end of 2025, Ericsson expects 2.8 billion 5G subscriptions globally, accounting for around 30 percent
of all mobile subscriptions at that time. LTE is projected to peak
in 2022 at 5.1 billion subscriptions and
decline to around 4.4 billion by the end of 2025.
The number of smartphone subscriptions worldwide is expected to grow by 2 billion over the forecast period, to 7.5 billion in 2025. That's equal to around 85 percent of all mobile subscriptions expected in 2025.
The Ericsson report further looks at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on networks and how operators handled the fluctuations in traffic. An 11-country survey by the company found that up to 46 percent of consumers surveyed spent significantly more time on fixed broadband and 16 percent used more mobile broadband. Three-quarters said their mobile experience was the same or better than before the crisis, while about half of respondents were very satisfied with their fixed broadband performance. Across the 11 markets, 87 percent said they have increased their usage of existing online services.
