PremiumWhile 40%, or around 500 million, mobile phone users in India will be availing 5G services by 2027, 56% mobile data traffic will be on 5G networks in the Indian region, including Nepal and Bhutan, Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson said in its latest mobility report.
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NEW DELHI : While 40%, or around 500 million, mobile phone users in India will be availing 5G services by 2027, 56% mobile data traffic will be on 5G networks in the Indian region, including Nepal and Bhutan, Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson said in its latest mobility report.
According to Ericsson, 25% of global population is already covered by 5G, and this could reach 75% by 2027.
“5G subscription is likely to surpass one billion in 2022 and reach 4.4 billion by 2027," it said.
Though India is yet to roll out 5G services, both consumers and enterprises have shown very high interest in 5G, Ericsson said.
To be sure, 52% of Indian enterprises want to use 5G in the next 12 months, showed a study conducted by research consultancy Omdia for Ericsson, which was also released on Tuesday.
The company interviewed 326 executives including chief technology officers and chief executives in India. “56% of Indian business heads count 5G as one of the most crucial technologies for digital transformation," Omdia said.
India is expected to conduct the 5G auctions in July. On 14 June, the Union cabinet gave its approval to the Department of Telecommunications’ plans to put over 72 GHz of 5G spectrum on block, with 20 years’ validity, by the end of July. On 18 June, telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said 5G deployment will start in 20-25 cities by the end of the year.
“Total mobile data traffic in the India region is estimated to grow by a factor of 4 between 2021 and 2027. This is driven by high growth in the number of smartphone users and an increase in average usage per smartphone," said Thiaw Seng Ng, head of network evolution, South East Asia, Oceania, India.
Emerging use cases for 5G include Internet of things, metaverse, private network, cloud gaming, network slicing, and fixed wireless access, Ericsson said.
Camille Mendler, Omdia’s chief analyst, enterprise services, said companies are interested in 5G for quality.
“They have desperate need to obtain better performing digital services, as they look to change business models, support new ways of working, empower the workforce, reduce risks and create a new customer experience," she said.