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In the Philippines, the two telecommunications company have already announced their 5G (fifth generation) technology rollouts recently and almost simultaneously. This is in anticipation of the 20-percent global mobile data traffic using 5G networks in 2023 as predicted by Ericsson Mobility Report.

Internet of Things (IoT) connections are expected to reach an estimated 3.5 billion in 2023, almost double from the previous forecast released in November 2017. The report attributes this development to the “massive IoT cellular technologies such as NB-IoT and Cat-M1” as well as “large-scale deployments in China.”

“2018 is the year 5G networks go commercial as well as for large-scale deployments of cellular IoT. These technologies promise new capabilities that will impact people’s lives and transform industries. This change will only come about through the combined efforts of industry players and regulators aligning on the spectrum, standards, and technology,” said Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of Business Area Networks.

Exabytes

The report expects mobile data traffic to increase by eight times “during the forecast period to reach close to 107 exabytes (EB) per month — a figure that is equal to every mobile subscriber in the world streaming full HD video for 10 hours.”

The report also sees that first-generation, 5G data-only devices will be available starting the second half of 2018 while “first commercial smartphones supporting 5G in the mid-bands are expected early next year, while support for very high spectrum bands is expected in early to mid-2019.”

Ericsson sees more than 20 percent of mobile data traffic worldwide will be on 5G networks in 2023, or around one-and-a-half times more than the total 4G/3G/2G traffic today.

Smart cities

North America is seen to lead the extensive use of this technology for logistics and fleet management. China, on the other hand, will be needing 5G to power up smart cities and smart agriculture.

According to the report: “Mobile operators have launched more than 60 cellular IoT networks worldwide using these technologies over the same underlying LTE network to support a diverse range of use cases.”

The report believes that by the end of the year 2023 about 50 percent of mobile subscriptions in North America would be on 5G. North East Asia comes in second at 34 percent and Western Europe at 21 percent.

People living in urban areas, where the infrastructure has already been laid out years ago, will get the first crack on the 5G experience. The industries are seen to make the most of this technology include automotive, healthcare, manufacturing, and utilities.

The Ericsson Mobility Report also features articles on network performance through the eyes of customers, smart manufacturing, machine intelligence in network management, and the importance of securing the right spectrum for 5G.