5G connection to reach 3.5 billion globally, 350 million in India by 2026: Report

New Delhi: Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson said India will have 350 million 5G users by 2026, accounting for 27% of the country’s mobile subscriptions. Its report projected that four of every 10 mobile subscriptions globally will be 5G in 2026.
However, 4G LTE will continue to dominate in India, accounting for 63% of mobile subscriptions six years from now. Broadband accounted for 67% of mobile subscriptions in 2020 and this figure is predicted to reach 91%, including 5G users, by 2026, when the total number of mobile broadband subscriptions is set to reach almost 1.2 billion, Ericsson said.

Estimates come as the government prepares to auction 4G airwaves in early 2021 and follow up with sale of 5G airwaves later next year.

The Big 3, Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea, are known to be working on the development of locally relevant 5G use-cases.

In India, average monthly mobile data usage per smartphone continues to show robust growth, boosted by rapid adoption of 4G and people working from home during Covid-19, Ericsson said. Average traffic per smartphone user increased to 15.7 GB per month in 2020 from 13.5 GB in 2019. This figure is expected to increase to about 37 GB per month in 2026, Ericsson said.

Global 4G population coverage will be over 80% at the end of 2020 and is forecast to reach about 95% in 2026. 4G networks are also evolving to deliver increased network capacity and faster data speeds.