According to Swedish kit vendor, Ericsson, 5G mobile subscription has been on the rise in every corner of the world, with numbers set to hit 1.5 billion subscribers unless some unforeseen circumstances happen.
5G technology which widely uncertain if it could translate into a platform for revenue generation, however according to the June 2023 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, the technology firm claims that the number of 5G subscribers has gone up in every part of the world, while the global mobile network data traffic with monthly global average usage per smartphone is expected to surpass 20GB by December.
The recent competition which is being established in the Nigerian telecommunication sector is a testament to this fact, as Airtel, one of Nigeria’s top telecom providers launched its 5G service on Monday after it bought 100MHz of spectrum in the 3500MHz band and 2x5MHz of 2600MHz spectrum from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for $316.7 million six months ago. According to Airtel, it hopes to cover the entire Nigerian telecom market by the end of its current financial year, starting with Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, and Rivers states.
Currently, Nigeria’s telecom industry has three telecom services which have all launched their 5G services respectively, the latest being Airtel. MTN, which launched its 5G services in August 2022, has expanded its network across 13 cities and has activated 700 sites. MTN 5G services currently operate in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Owerri, Ibadan, Maiduguri, Abeokuta, Ife, Warri, Enugu, and Ifo. Mafab Communications, which is the third, only had its media launch in January but is yet to begin rolling out its services.
However, analysts predict serious competition in the telecom industry, with Airtel’s recent launch of its 5G router at N30,000 crashing MTN’s entry of N50,000 for its 5G router.
Ericsson, already forecasts that 5G subscriptions will reach 4.6 billion globally by the end of 2028, which makes up for more than 50% of all mobile subscriptions. 4G subscriptions, which have also been on the rise and have reached 5.2 billion having increased by 59 million in Q1 2023 are projected to start declining from this year to around 3.8 billion by the end of 2028 as more customers begin to migrate to 5G services.
The Indian telecom market has been regarded as the fastest-growing 5G region globally, according to Ericsson Mobility report. The Indian market has seen 5G subscriptions rise to about 10 million by the end of 2022 and is estimated to account for 57% of mobile subscriptions in the country by the end of 2028.
5G subscriptions also rose up in North America and has surpassed previous forecasts which have been made in that region as well, It rose to 41% by the end of 2022, and ranks as the highest at the moment regionally.
The report also disclosed that 240 CSPs (operators) have also launched commercial 5G services and over 35 have deployed 5G standalone. The most common 5G services for consumers listed are enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), gaming, and AR/VR- based services. While over 100 CSPs are now offering FWA services over 5G, estimated to account for almost 80% of all FWA connections by 2028.
Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson said “The global adoption of 5G technology has surpassed one billion subscriptions, bringing positive revenue growth for communications service providers in leading 5G markets.
“We see a strong link between the increase in 5G subscriptions and service revenue. Over the past two years, the introduction of 5G services in the top twenty markets has resulted in a seven percent revenue boost. This trend shows the growing value of 5G, benefiting users and service providers alike.”
As regards revenue, the report highlighted that it is not certain of revenue generation despite the report of 7% increase in 5G subscribers. The revenue claims that “the launch of 5G services has enabled service providers to proactively drive a shift to higher mobile tariffs while adding value for consumers.”
