According to Ericsson, a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company, nearly 1 in every 5 global mobile subscriptions will be 5G-based by the close of 2023. This projection comes from Ericsson’s 25th edition of the Mobility Report published recently.
Within Southeast Asia and Oceania, 5G subscriptions are anticipated to reach approximately 550 million by the end of 2029. Ericsson highlights that service providers are actively diversifying their offerings to meet the needs of both consumers and enterprises.
The report underscores the region’s focus on enhancing customer experience, expanding network coverage, and driving digital transformations in businesses as top priorities for broadening their 5G capabilities.
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“The roll-out of 5G continues and we see an increasing number of 5G standalone networks being deployed, bringing opportunities to support new and more demanding applications for both consumers and enterprises,” said Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of Networks, Ericsson.
“Mobile data traffic per smartphone continues to grow strongly in Southeast Asia and Oceania and is expected to reach around 66GB per month in 2029 from 24GB per month in 2023. a CAGR of 19%,” Ericsson said.
Global growth
The Ericsson Mobility Report forecasts a surge of 610 million new 5G subscriptions globally in 2023, marking a 63% increase from 2022 and bringing the worldwide total to 1.6 billion or approximately 100 million more than previously estimated.
The report identifies enhanced mobile broadband, fixed wireless access, gaming, and AR/VR-based services as the most prevalent early consumer applications for 5G.
“The rate of data growth in mobile networks reflects consumers’ passion for enhanced mobile broadband-related applications,” said Peter Jonsson, executive editor, Ericsson Mobility Report. “This trend will increase in pace as more consumers worldwide embrace 5G and new use cases emerge, triggering further growth in data traffic.
The average data consumption per smartphone globally continues to rise. Total mobile data traffic is expected to triple between the conclusion of 2023 and the end of 2029, attributed to factors such as enhanced device capabilities, a surge in data-heavy content, and ongoing enhancements in network performance.