Around 40% Of India's Mobile Subs To Be On 5G By 2027: Ericsson Report
The latest Ericsson Mobility Report on 5G released on 21 June states that as India steps on to the 5G bandwagon, its share in mobile subscription will increase to 39 per cent in next five years will the balance with 4G mobile subscriptions. "5G will represent around 39 percent of mobile subscriptions in the region at the end of 2027, with about 500 million subscriptions," the report said.
"4G subscriptions are forecast to decline annually to an estimated 700 million subscriptions in 2027 as subscribers migrate to 5G post introduction of 5G in India," the Ericsson mobility report added.
It must be noted that the commercial launch of 5G networks is planned for the second half of 2022 in India, with enhanced mobile broadband expected to be the initial main use case, the report said.
The report further said that 60 percent of global mobile network data traffic was expected to be over 5G networks by 2027. The report added that the global mobile network data traffic doubled in the past two years. Based on that growth, the report said that 4.4 billion 5G subscriptions was expected by 2027. "North America is forecast to lead the world in 5G subscription penetration in the next five years with nine-of-every-ten subscriptions in the region expected to be 5G by 2027," it said.
Thiaw Seng Ng, Head of Network Evolution, SEA, Oceania and India, Ericsson said, “Total mobile data traffic in the India region is estimated to grow by a factor of 4 between 2021 and 2027. This is driven by high growth in the number of smartphone users and an increase in average usage per smartphone.” The average data traffic per smartphone in the India region is the second highest globally. It is projected to grow from 20GB per month in 2021 to around 50GB per month in 2027 – a CAGR of 16 percent.
Insights from the Omdia and Ericsson whitepaper showed that more than half (52 per cent) of Indian enterprises wanted to start using 5G within the next 12 months. This is according to a new study from research consultancy Omdia sponsored by Ericsson. A further 31 per cent expected to use 5G by 2024.
The 326 business executives surveyed across a range of industries believe 5G is a critical technology enabling their digital transformation. The top ranked benefits of 5G are superior network performance enabling automation and new ways of working. The study highlights that quality of experience rather than price drives customers to buy 5G, changing the competitive dynamics of India’s telecoms market. The top 5G use cases that enterprises identify are enhanced content streaming, real-time video analytics and control of autonomous vehicles and drones.
India is already seeing a rising ownership of smartphones that support 5G. Drawing on global 5G market experience, the Omdia study says that service providers in India also need a balanced portfolio of spectrum assets to deliver 5G services that consumers and enterprises will buy. These include low-band spectrum for coverage, mm Wave for capacity, and mid band for a mix of both. The study authors predict that 5G rollout will differ profoundly from 4G: 5G offers more service options and use cases. Globally, public 5G and 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) are the most widespread 5G services today among consumers and businesses.
