The number of global 5G subscriptions increased by 70 million in the second quarter of 2022, bringing the total to 690 million, according to an update to the biannual Mobility Report from Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson. The number of 4G subscriptions, which now total about 5 billion and account for 60% of all subscriptions, rose by 77 million.
Global 5G Subscription Growth
By the end of 2022, 5G subscriptions worldwide are forecast to reach 1 billion, with North America and China markets driving this growth. In contrast, 4G subscriptions are predicted to reach a peak of 5 billion this year before falling to 3.5 billion by the end of 2027 as users transition to 5G. According to the update, 24 companies have launched 5G standalone (SA) networks, and 218 companies have launched commercial 5G services.
On the other side, the total number of mobile subscribers has increased to 8.3 billion, with China, India, and Indonesia leading the way with a net addition of 52 million memberships during the quarter. According to the report, China had 10 million net additions during the quarter, followed by India (7 million) and Indonesia (4 million).
The study showed a 106% global subscriber penetration for mobile. Mobile subscriber penetration was lowest in the India region (including India, Nepal, and Bhutan) at 78%, while it was highest in Central and Eastern Europe (including Russia) at 140%. During the quarter, there were an additional about 100 million mobile broadband subscriptions added, bringing the total to 7.2 billion, a year-over-year growth of 6%. According to Ericsson, mobile broadband now makes up 86% of all mobile subscriptions.
Between Q1 2022 and Q2 2022, mobile network data traffic increased by 8% quarter over quarter. The total monthly data traffic on all mobile networks worldwide was 100 exabytes (EB). The manufacturer of telecom equipment expects traffic to increase over time, driven by both an increase in the number of smartphone subscribers and an increase in the average data capacity per subscription, which is primarily driven by an increase in the consumption of video content.
