· 190
million 5G subscriptions forecast by end of 2020; 2.8 billion by the end of
2025
· Digital
infrastructure critical to meeting communication needs in times of crisis
· 5G
to represent around 18 percent of mobile subscriptions in India at the
end of 2025
Ericsson
(NASDAQ: ERIC) expects the global number of 5G subscriptions to top 190 million
by the end of 2020 and 2.8 billion by the end of 2025. 5G will account for
18 percent of all mobile subscriptions by 2025.These forecasts are
included in the June 2020 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report,
along with projections for data traffic growth, and regional subscriptions.
The report
also takes an incisive look at the role of networks and digital infrastructure
in keeping societies running, and families connected during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head
of Networks, Ericsson, says: “The spread of COVID-19 has prompted people all
over the world to change their daily lives and, in many cases, work or study
from home. This has led to a rapid shift of network traffic from business to
residential areas. The latest Ericsson Mobility Report shows that mobile
and fixed networks are increasingly playing an even bigger part of critical
national infrastructure.”
While 5G subscription growth in some markets has
slowed as a result of the pandemic, this is outweighed by other markets where
it is accelerating, prompting Ericsson to raise its year-end 2020 forecast for
global 5G subscriptions.
”Beyond
measuring the success of 5G in subscriptions, its impact ultimately will be
judged by the benefits it brings to people and enterprises,” Jejdling adds. ”5G
was made for innovation and this crisis has highlighted the true value of
connectivity and the role it can play in restarting economies.
Changes in
behavior due to lockdown restrictions have caused measurable changes in the
usage of both fixed and mobile networks. The largest share of the traffic
increase has been absorbed by fixed residential networks, which has experienced
a 20-100 percent growth. But many service providers also noticed a spike in
demand on their mobile network.
In a recent
study conducted by Ericsson Consumer Lab, 83 percent of the respondents from 11
countries claim that ICT helped them a lot to cope with the lockdown. The
results show an increased adoption and usage of ICT services, such as
e-learning and wellness apps, that have helped consumers adapt to new
realities, underpinned by connectivity.
Looking ahead, while 57 percent say they will save
money for financial security, one-third plan to invest in 5G and an improved
broadband at home to be better prepared for a potential second wave of
COVID-19.
Ericsson Mobility Report, India
Highlights: India remains
the region with the highest usage per smartphone per month. Total traffic is
projected to triple, reaching 21EB per month in 2025. In the India region,
the average monthly mobile data usage per smartphone continues to show robust
growth, boosted by the rapid adoption of 4G. Low prices for mobile broadband
services, affordable smartphones and people’s changing video viewing habits
have continued to drive monthly usage growth in the region. The number of
smartphone subscriptions has increased to 620 million in 2019 and is expected
to grow at a CAGR of 9 percent, reaching 1 billion by 2025. Around 410
million additional smartphone users are expected in India by 2025.
LTE remains the dominant
technology, accounting for 49 percent of mobile subscriptions in 2019. LTE will
continue to be dominant, representing 64 percent of mobile subscriptions in
2025. In the India
region, LTE subscriptions are forecast to increase from 550 million in 2019 to
820 million in 2025, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7
percent.
Mobile broadband
technologies accounted for 58 percent of mobile subscriptions in 2019, and this
figure is predicted to reach 82 percent by 2025. The total number of mobile
broadband subscriptions is set to exceed 1 billion by 2025. “5G will represent
around 18 percent of mobile subscriptions in India at the end of 2025.” states
Patrik Cerwall, Head of Strategic Marketing Insights and Executive Editor of
the Ericsson Mobility Report.
5G
Business Potential
The
current COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the importance of digitalization
for businesses worldwide. With consumer and
personal communication-centric commercial 5G networks already live around the
globe, the next wave of 5G expansion will allow businesses to reap the benefits
of enhanced mobility, flexibility, reliability, and security – taking IoT and
industrial applications to never-before-seen levels. The combination of 5G and
digitalization creates new opportunities for service providers to build and
extend their businesses beyond connectivity. Ericsson’s 5G for
Business : a 2030 market compass anticipates that by 2030 up to USD
700 billion of 5G-enabled, business-to-business value could be addressed by
service providers . In India,
the projected value of the 5G-enabled digitalization revenues will be
approximately USD 17 billion by 2030. 5G is
a platform for innovation. It enables new services for consumers ,enterprises
and industry, including large-scale IoT use cases. Healthcare, manufacturing,
automotive and the energy/utilities sectors are among the biggest revenue
generating opportunities for Communications service providers in 5G.
States
Nitin Bansal, Head of Network Solutions, South east Asia, Oceania and India,” It is key
to invest in 4G in India,
to excel in 5G. Here, private networks represent a very important first step
and fundamental to building a momentum in serving a wide array of 5G-enabled
use cases. Mobile technology is an unmatched connectivity foundation for
the digital transformation of any industry, and any product, anywhere in the
world.”
At
Ericsson, we have the right 5G portfolio in place to enable our customers to
deploy 5G networks in all main frequency bands globally in the fastest and most
efficient way. Initially (for the first widespread use case) 5G will be a
network capacity, speed and quality enhancer in metropolitan areas with
enhanced mobile broadband as a way for operators to address huge traffic
growth. Over time, new, exciting innovation in 5G for business will come with
IoT use cases as 5G opens up opportunities for operators. Further, we believe
that 5G security provides a level of trustworthiness that enables the 5G system
to meet the requirements of the vast majority of use cases,” states Mr
Bansal.
Ericsson
now has more than 93 commercial 5G agreements or contracts with unique
communication service providers, of which 40 are live networks. Ericsson was
the first with commercial live networks on four continents: Europe, America, Asia and Australia. “We have the right 5G
portfolio in place to enable our customers to deploy 5G networks in all main
frequency bands globally in the fastest and most efficient way. This has been
proven in live networks with the best performance results. Our Indian operators
can benefit from Ericsson’s global experience when they plan their 5G
deployments in India
” states Mr Bansal .
The report
also includes forecasts on data traffic growth, regional subscriptions plus
insights into cloud-based gaming as well as in-depth articles on private
dedicated networks and Verizon’s millimeter wave strategy for targeted
metropolitan areas.
June 16, 2020