Almost 750 million additional people gained 5G coverage in 2023, with over half of this growth driven by rollouts from operators in India, according to a new GSMA report released Wednesday. Among India's four operators (three private and one government-owned), Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio currently offer Unlimited 5G services at no additional cost.
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Report Funded By
However, the benefits of mobile connectivity have yet to be fully realised as 43 percent of the global population – equivalent to 3.45 billion people – still do not use mobile internet, the GSMA's "State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024" report found.
The report, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), indicates that while the proportion of the global population using mobile internet on their own device continues to increase annually, the rate of user growth is slowing.
Unlike the majority of surveyed countries, smartphone ownership increased from 2022 to 2023 among rural populations in India. This suggests that the rate of smartphone adoption may be slowing, the report said.
The consumer experience on mobile networks continued to see significant improvement in 2023, with global average download speeds increasing from 34 to 48 Mbps.
"This represents the largest proportional and absolute increase seen to date. The biggest increase was in South Asia, where India's launch of 5G drove a 70 percent increase in average download speeds in the region," according to the report.
5G Outpaces Previous Mobile Technologies
The GSMA notes that, four years after its arrival, the number of 5G connections worldwide surpassed 1.5 billion by the end of 2023, making it the fastest-growing mobile broadband technology to date.
In comparison, it took 10 years for 3G to reach the same milestone and more than five years for 4G. Having surpassed 2G and 3G in terms of connections in 2023, 5G is expected to become the dominant global technology by the end of the decade.
However, the GSMA reported that, while 5G deployments are beginning to take off in many LMICs (low- and middle-income countries), 5G is unlikely to become the predominant mobile technology in many of these regions by 2030.
GSMA Intelligence forecasts that, by 2030, 5G penetration in LMICs will be around 55 percent, compared to 120 percent in high-income countries. For consumers, 5G offers a significantly improved mobile experience. By the end of 2023, average 5G download speeds reached approximately 230 Mbps—a more than fivefold increase over 4G speeds, according to the GSMA.
Operators Have Not Yet Scaled 5G
The report highlights that, in most markets (including those with higher 5G consumer adoption), the business-to-business (B2B) segment that operators expect to drive much of the revenue growth for 5G has not yet achieved scale. Additionally, the majority of operators are also yet to deploy 5G standalone (SA) networks – a prerequisite for unlocking the full potential of 5G.
Furthermore, the deployment and densification of 5G is a challenge for operators, considering the high levels of investment needed and the fact that, in many markets, returns have been flat or are declining.
5G Fixed Wireless Access
According to the report, 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) has been an early success story, reaching more than 5 percent household adoption in countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Austria, the US, Germany, and Australia. However, the findings noted that in most countries, 5G FWA adoption remains low, with significant room for growth.
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Demographics of Usage
The report highlights demographic variations in mobile internet use. In India, for instance, men use mobile internet for an average of nine different weekly activities, compared to 7.6 for women. Across all seven survey countries with a sufficient sample size, literate mobile internet users performed a wider variety of tasks weekly than those with lower literacy levels.
"Interestingly, mobile internet users with low literacy levels in India are, on average, using mobile internet for at least eight different activities on a weekly basis, which is higher than both low-literacy and literate groups for all other countries analysed," the GSMA report noted.
In India, 29 percent of men remain unaware of mobile internet, compared to 43 percent of women. Among mobile internet users, many express a desire to increase their usage. In several survey countries, female mobile internet users are more likely than men to want to use mobile internet more, especially in Kenya, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia, where this sentiment is true for more than half of female users.
The report states that the benefits of mobile connectivity have yet to be fully realised as 43 percent of the global population – equivalent to 3.45 billion people – still do not use mobile internet.
Estimated Additional USD 3.5 Trillion in GDP
The New GSMA report indicates that mobile internet connectivity continues to grow globally but barriers for 3.45 billion unconnected people remain. Connecting those with access to existing mobile internet services would deliver an estimated additional USD 3.5 trillion in total GDP during 2023-2030.
John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA, said: "While progress continues to be made in improving infrastructure and in increasing mobile internet adoption, significant digital divides exist."
"In addition, although most users access mobile internet daily, their activities are often limited to just one or two activities, even though many express a desire to do more. This highlights persistent barriers – affordability, lack of skills and literacy, concerns around safety and security and a lack of relevant content and services – that prevent users from getting online and then using mobile internet to meet their life needs once they are online."
Global Mobile Internet Connectivity
The report notes that 4.6 billion people (57 percent of the global population) now use mobile internet on their own devices, while 350 million people (4 percent of the global population) live in largely remote areas without mobile internet networks (the coverage gap). About 3.1 billion people (39 percent of the global population) live within mobile internet coverage but do not use it (the usage gap).
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Closing the usage gap could add an estimated USD 3.5 trillion to the global economy from 2023 to 2030, with 90 percent of this impact benefiting LMICs.
