Few days back, Ericsson, the Swedish telecom gear maker came up with a report stating that the fifth-generation (5G) cellular technology could drive up to $31 trillion in cumulative consumer revenue in the ICT industry globally by 2030. According to the report, it’s also being estimated that communications service providers (CSPs) could earn $3.7 trillion of that total through this advancement. Now, Ericsson has released one more report that states, 5G connections across the globe are estimated to be 3.5 billion and India will account for 350 million subscriptions by 2026. “India may get its first 5G connection in 2021 if spectrum auctions are held early next year,” said Nitin Bansal, Head of Network Solutions (Southeast Asia, Oceania and India), Ericsson.

Globally, more than 1 billion people, 15 percent of the world’s population, are expected to live in an area that has 5G coverage rolled out, according to the ‘Ericsson Mobility Report 2020’ released on Monday. “In 2026, 60 percent of the world’s population will have access to 5G coverage, with 5G subscriptions forecast to reach 3.5 billion. In India, 5G subscriptions will surpass 350 million, accounting for 27 percent of all mobile subscriptions in 2026,” the report said.

Nitin also stated that based on the reported timeline for spectrum auction for 5G services, he expects India to have its first 5G connection in 2021. According to the report, India has the highest average traffic per smartphone user per month at 15.7 GB per month.

“Low prices for mobile broadband services,

In 2026, 60 percent of the world’s population will have access to 5G coverage, with 5G subscriptions forecast to reach 3.5 billion

affordable smartphones, and increased time spent by people online contribute to monthly usage growth in India. Accordingly, total traffic is projected to quadruple in India, reaching 35EB (exabyte) per month in 2026,” said Patrik Cerwall, Head of Strategic Marketing Insights, Ericsson.

The report said LTE (4G) remains the dominant technology in India in 2020, accounting for 63 percent of mobile subscriptions and 3G is expected to be phased out by 2026. “In the India region, LTE subscriptions are forecast to increase from 710 million in 2020 to 820 million in 2026, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2 percent,” the report said. It added that mobile broadband technologies accounted for 67 percent of mobile subscriptions in 2020, and this figure is predicted to reach 91 percent by 2026. It is also expected that the total number of mobile broadband subscriptions is set to reach close to 1.2 billion by 2026. According to an annual report, the number of smartphone subscriptions has increased to 760 million in 2020 in the country and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7 percent to reach close to 1.2 billion by 2026.

Telecom operators in India have been keen to harness the 5G opportunity. Strategic collaboration with equipment and infrastructure vendors have been a major focus of telecom companies. Bharti Airtel Limited established strategic alliances with international vendors like Nokia, Ericsson, Cisco, IBM and Red Hat over the recent past to build 5G infrastructure. Vodafone Idea Limited has entered a multi-year agreement with Ericsson to deploy 5G-ready wireless equipment in India. On the other hand, Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) has been strengthening the development of indigenous end-to-end 5G technology.