The latest Ericsson Mobility Report highlights the growing importance of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) as a leading 5G use case for communications service providers (CSPs) around the world.
The report, which includes Ericsson’s newest mobile industry forecasts, regional analysis, and customer case studies, shows a notable rise in the number of CSPs providing FWA services over the past year.
In a global sample of 310 CSPs, 241 offered FWA services as of April 2024. Of those, 128 providers—about 53 percent—now include a 5G FWA option. That marks a 12 percentage-point increase from the same period in 2023 and represents 29 percent growth year over year.
5G FWA’s appeal lies in its higher speeds, greater data capacity and lower latency, which make speed-based FWA plans more competitive with cable and fiber broadband. Over the past year, the number of CSPs offering 5G FWA with speed-based tariffs grew by nearly 50 percent, and roughly 40 percent of all FWA providers now use speed-tiered plans.
Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson, noted: “The June 2024 Ericsson Mobility Report shows continued strong uptake of 5G subscriptions. Enhanced Mobile Broadband and Fixed Wireless Access are the leading use cases, with signs that 5G capabilities are influencing service providers’ Fixed Wireless Access offerings. The report also highlights the need for increased deployment of 5G Standalone technology to fully realise the potential of 5G.”
The report further indicates that around 300 CSPs worldwide now offer 5G services, and about 50 have launched 5G Standalone (5G SA) networks, underscoring the ongoing development and maturation of 5G across the telecom industry.
Subscription growth remains strong across regions: the first quarter of 2024 saw 160 million new 5G subscriptions, bringing the global total to more than 1.7 billion. Ericsson projects nearly 5.6 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2029, which would represent roughly 60 percent of all mobile subscriptions.
Regional variations in 5G adoption are expected to continue. North America is forecast to lead by 2029 with about 90 percent 5G penetration—around 430 million subscriptions. India is projected to see a dramatic rise from 119 million 5G subscriptions at the end of 2023 to roughly 840 million by the end of 2029, moving the country’s 5G share from 10 percent to about 65 percent of all mobile subscriptions.
The report also highlights improvements in user experience driven by 5G. Data from a leading operator show that 97 percent of user activities on 5G mid-band reached time-to-content under 1.5 seconds, compared with 67 percent on 5G low-band and 38 percent on 4G across all bands.
Although mobile network data traffic continues to increase—largely driven by subscribers moving to newer generations and demand for data-heavy services like video—the report adjusts its year-on-year growth outlook downward from the November 2023 assessment. This revision reflects updated underlying data, including lower traffic figures reported by regulators and operators in several large markets for the latter half of 2023.
Looking forward, mobile data traffic is forecast to expand at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 20 percent through 2029. By then, about 75 percent of all mobile network data is expected to be carried by 5G networks, up from approximately one quarter at the end of 2023.
As 5G continues to advance and broaden its reach, the Ericsson Mobility Report emphasizes the technology’s growing role in shaping the future of telecommunications and digital connectivity worldwide.
(Photo by Alternate Skate)
See also: US 5G performance surges as carriers deploy mid-band spectrum
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