5G in India to Account for 57 Percent of Mobile Subscriptions by 2028: Report

The 5G subscription in India is estimated to have reached about 10 million by 2022 end, and is seen accounting for about 57 percent of mobile subscriptions in the country by the end of 2028, making it “the fastest growing” 5G region globally, according to Ericsson Mobility Report. 

With the launch of 5G services in October 2022, the major 5G Indian market is witnessing huge network deployments under its Digital India initiative, it observed.

The geopolitical challenges and macroeconomic slowdown in some markets notwithstanding, communications service providers globally are continuing to invest in 5G, the June 2023 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report revealed.

“5G subscriptions in India reached about 10 million by end of 2022 and are estimated to account for about 57 percent of mobile subscriptions in the country by the end of 2028, making it the fastest growing 5G region globally,” it said.

The fifth generation mobile subscriptions are growing in every region and forecast to top 1.5 billion globally by the end of 2023.

The uptake of 5G subscriptions in North America has been stronger than expected in previous forecasts. The region had the highest 5G global subscription penetration at 41 percent at the end of 2022.

Global mobile network data traffic continues to rise with the monthly global average usage per smartphone expected to exceed 20GB by the end of 2023.

The report also highlighted the continued revenue growth in leading 5G markets.

“The global adoption of 5G technology has surpassed one billion subscriptions, bringing positive revenue growth for communications service providers in leading 5G markets,” Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, Ericsson, said.

In the past two years, the 5G introduction in the top twenty markets has resulted in a seven per cent revenue boost, Jejdling said, underlining a strong link between the increase in 5G subscriptions and service revenue.

Globally, around 240 communications service providers (CSPs) have launched commercial 5G services and about 35 have deployed or launched 5G standalone (SA). The most common 5G services launched by service providers for consumers are enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), gaming and some (Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality) AR/VR-based services, such as training and education.

The report also reveals that 5G continues to drive innovation in mobile service packaging.

Among communications service providers, it is increasingly common to offer bundles with various popular entertainment services such as television, music streaming or cloud gaming platforms.

About 58 percent of 5G service providers currently do so in various forms.

As per Ericsson, by 2028, 5G is estimated to account for almost 80 per cent of all FWA connections.