A weaker economy and other challenges have most people and companies wondering what the future holds. “Most” is the key word because service providers seem to know the future is 5G, and they continue to deploy 5G infrastructure to support increasing business and consumer demand. Some 228 providers have already launched commercial 5G services globally, according to the November 2022 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report.
Service providers are experiencing a flourish of 5G subscriptions, which grew by 110 million just in the third quarter of 2022 alone. With that rate of growth, the number is expected to reach 1 billion by the end of the year and 5 billion by the end 2028.
Based on those projected the numbers, 5G subscription uptake is moving at a faster rate than that of 4G after its launch in 2009 and will reach 1 billion subscriptions two years sooner than 4G.
Key factors include the timely availability of devices from several vendors with prices declining faster than for 4G and China’s large, early 5G deployments. 5G is expected to become the dominant mobile access technology by subscriptions in 2027 and account for 55% of all mobile subscriptions by 2028, according to the report.
In that same timeframe, 2022-28, 5G population coverage is projected to reach 85% while 5G networks are expected to carry around 70% of mobile traffic and account for all contemporary traffic growth. This factors into the goal set by governments to halve global greenhouse gases by 2030. The growing data traffic needs to be managed with smart network modernization combined with a balanced approach to network performance.
The telecommunications sector plays an important role in addressing global sustainability goals by reducing its emissions and through its potential to reduce carbon emissions across other industries. 5G technologies are ready to step up to the challenge. They are designed for high capacity and low network energy consumption, including significantly improved support for energy savings during low-to-medium traffic periods.
“Global mobile network data traffic is practically doubling every two years,” said Fredrik Jejdling, executive vice president and head of networks, Ericsson (News - Alert). “Service providers are taking actions to deploy the latest generation of energy-efficient radio hardware and software, increase the use of renewable energy sources and operate site infrastructure intelligently to reduce the environmental impact."
The original stigma associated with 5G when it first released is now null based on the fact that subscriptions are on the rise. As the report states, service providers show no signs of slowing down 5G deployment as they look to utilize 5G to open gateways to the connected world for all worldwide while reducing energy consumption with 5G technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
Edited by
Erik Linask
