5G is being deployed at a fast pace in India by the two telecom operators - Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. According to the latest Ericsson Mobile Report, the 5G subscriptions in India are going to reach 31 million by the end of 2022. Further, by 2028, Ericsson said that 5G subscriptions in India would jump to 690 million. This means that the maximum number of mobile subscriptions in India by 2028 will be 5G. It is a fast jump. To boil it down to exact percentages, Ericsson said that 53% of the mobile subscriptions in India in 2028 will be 5G. However, 4G subscriptions haven't peaked yet in the country. The report mentioned that 4G subscriptions would peak in 2024 in India at around 930 million. After that, the 4G subscriptions will start declining to an estimated 570 million by the end of 2028.
According to Nitin Bansal, Head of Ericsson India and Head of Network Solutions for South East Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson, "5G will play a crucial role in achieving India’s digital inclusion goals especially for bringing broadband to rural and remote homes. In fact, enhanced mobile broadband is serving as the foundation for the Government’s “Digital India” vision by enabling people to access public services.
Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA) are expected to be the early use-cases for 5G in India which will help address the concern of the limited fixed broadband penetration levels in the country and improve the data experience while on the move."
5G to Boost Average Data Traffic Per Smartphone in India
5G is definitely going to drive the amount of data Indians consumes on an average basis. From 25GB per month in 2022, the average data consumption per smartphone will rise to 54GB a month, a CAGR of 14%. Further, Ericsson said that total mobile data traffic will go up from 25 EB in 2022 to 53 EB in 2028, growing at a CAGR of 19%.
The data consumption will be driven by the high growth of smartphone users as well as the increase in the average usage of smartphones. According to the report, smartphone subscriptions in India as a percentage of total mobile subscriptions are expected to go up to 94% in 2028 from 77% in 2022.
