According to a report by GSMA Intelligence, the number of 5G connections worldwide reached 1.6 billion at the end of 2023 and is expected to go up to 5.5 billion by 2030.
Anticipating a substantial shift, the report forecasts 5G connections to dominate the mobile landscape, constituting over half (51 per cent) of mobile connections by 2029 and rising to 56 per cent by the decade’s end.
As users increasingly transition to 4G and 5G networks, the report predicts a decline in legacy 2G and 3G connections, leading to an upsurge in network sunsets. Approximately 143 legacy networks are expected to be retired between 2023 and 2030, with roughly half slated for decommissioning by the end of 2024.
Commenting on the report, Peter Jarich, head of GSMA Intelligence, said, “The early success if 5G was driven by enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and eMBB-related network traffic requirements. Yet, while consumer requirements will continue their trajectory, we’re now seeing use cases beyond that. Opportunities are now appearing in areas including application programming interface (API) monetisation and 5G RedCap for enterprise internet of things (IoT) – all supported by 5G advanced and 5G standalone (SA) networks.”
The report highlights a global push toward 5G deployment, with 261 telecom operators worldwide having launched commercial 5G mobile services by January 2024. Notably, over 90 telcos from 64 markets have committed to rolling out 5G services in the near future. Developed regions like Asia Pacific, North America, and Greater China are expected to lead in 5G adoption, buoyed by network expansion, intensified marketing efforts, and growing device penetration.
As per the report, leading operators are actively launching 5G SA networks and planning for advanced services, with 47 out of the 261 commercial 5G services provided by 5G SA networks, and an additional 89 deployments planned in the near term. However, the report cautions about slower growth in emerging 5G markets due to challenges related to affordability and spectrum availability.
Despite the rapid advancement of 5G technology, GSMA Intelligence asserts that 4G still has substantial room for growth and will remain the dominant technology in many countries until 2030, indicating ample growth potential. Furthermore, the report underscores a significant increase in monthly global mobile data traffic per connection, rising from 10.2GB in 2022 to 12.8GB in 2023, with notable disparities between high-income regions and low- to middle-income countries.
The report finds that in India specifically, mobile data traffic is projected to experience a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23 per cent between 2023 and 2030, reaching over 465 exabytes per month by the decade’s end. India is expected to rank among the highest globally in monthly data usage, reaching 19GB per month.
