Analysts at Juniper Research forecast that 5G will account for 77 percent of global operator revenues by 2026.
The report projects 5G service revenues to reach $600 billion by 2026.
Despite ongoing semiconductor supply constraints, Juniper notes that 5G adoption has been driven by strong demand for capable devices and attractive subscription pricing models.
Charles Bowman, co-author of the research, said:
“Device vendors are capitalising on faster networks by adding mobile connectivity to new consumer devices. Operators must respond by enabling users to access 5G across multiple devices under a single subscription, allowing subscribers to conveniently manage their data.”
The expansion of 5G is expected to support a dramatic rise in data consumption over the next few years.
Juniper’s analysts predict cellular data traffic will grow from 720 exabytes in 2021 to 2,900 exabytes by 2026 — a roughly 300 percent increase in five years.
This surge in demand will be driven both by broader 5G uptake and by significant growth in cellular IoT devices.
By 2026, Juniper expects the number of cellular IoT devices to reach six billion. If realised, this would mean cellular IoT devices outnumber global smartphones for the first time.
A full copy of the research is available here (paywall)
(Photo by Lukas Blazek on Unsplash)
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