India to be fastest growing 5G region globally by 2028: Ericsson report

5G subscriptions in India are expected to reach about 700 million by the end of 2028 from 10 million at the end of 2022, a report released on Thursday said. At the end of the next five years, 5G will account for 57 per cent of all mobile subscriptions in India, making it the fastest-growing region for the adoption of this technology, it added.

According to the June 2023 Ericsson Mobility Report, currently, 4G dominates the market in India with 820 million subscriptions at the end of 2022. But this is expected to decline to 500 million by the end of 2028.

The total mobile subscriptions, on the other hand, are expected to rise to 1.2 billion. This highlights that more and more users will switch to 5G in the next five years.

India will also account for a big chunk of the global 5G market as the global 5G subscriptions are expected to reach 4.6 billion by the end of 2028. India will thus account for over 15 per cent of the market share.

The report also showed that the average data traffic per smartphone is projected to grow from 26 gigabytes (GB) per month in 2022 to around 62 GB per month in 2028, rising at an annual rate of 16 per cent.

In terms of penetration, however, the North American region is expected to be the leader by 2028 with 91 per cent of smartphone users choosing 5G services. It will be followed by Western Europe at 88 per cent.

Nitin Bansal, head of Ericsson India and head of Network Solutions for South East Asia, Oceania, and India, Ericsson says, "Mobile networks continue to play a pivotal role in driving social and economic inclusion in the country. The strong digital infrastructure being established in India will help the country bridge the digital divide, create jobs, drive entrepreneurship and boost the economy."

The report added that 5G technology has led to higher adoption of fixed wireless access (FWA). From 100 million at the end of 2022, FWA connections worldwide are projected to increase to 300 million by the end of 2028. This represents 17 per cent of all fixed broadband connections.

Of the 300 million projected connections, nearly 80 per cent are expected to be over 5G.

Moreover, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will account for nearly half of all FWA connections by 2028-end. The number of FWA connections in this region is expected to nearly triple in the next five years, increasing its share of global FWA connections from 36 per cent currently to 46 per cent.