Ericsson: 12% of global mobile connections to be 5G in 2023

The latest Ericsson Mobility Report expects major 5G deployments globally from 2020, anticipating more than one billion connections for enhanced mobile broadband by the end of 2023.

North America is expected to lead 5G uptake, with the major US operators planning to roll out 5G between late 2018 and mid-2019.

“By end of 2023, close to 50% of all mobile subscriptions in North America are forecast to be for 5G, followed by North East Asia at 34%, and Western Europe at 21%,” according to the report.

The study also expects mobile data traffic to surge by eight times during the forecast period to reach close to 107 exabytes (EB) per month – a figure that is equal to “every mobile subscriber in the world streaming full HD video for 10 hours”.

Ericsson said that by 2023 more than 20% of mobile data traffic worldwide is expected to be carried by 5G networks – 1.5 times more than total 4G, 3G and 2G traffic today.

Ericsson’s executive vice-president and head of business area networks, Fredrik Jejdling, said: “2018 is the year 5G networks go commercial as well as for large-scale deployments of cellular IoT.

“These technologies promise new capabilities that will impact people’s lives and transform industries. This change will only come about through the combined efforts of industry players and regulators aligning on spectrum, standards and technology.”