End of 2020: The Ericsson Mobility Reportprovides analyses of the current developments for the mobile communications market in the third quarter of 2020 and forecasts for the next five years. Ericsson is already forecasting a 5G share of 68 percent of all mobile communications contracts in Western Europe by 2026. This will put Western Europe in second place behind North America. For which the report predicts a 5G share of 80 percent. Northeast Asia, which was still in second place in last year’s Ericsson Mobility Report, will then take third place in terms of the share of 5G contracts with a share of 60 percent.
Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks at Ericsson. Says: “5G is here to stay. Rapid societal changes are making fast mobile networks a critical infrastructure that will impact our daily lives in many ways. The Covid-19 pandemic has played a decisive role in driving forward the ongoing digitization of the economy and society. And the 5G expansion and the number of 5G contracts signed will also benefit from this.”
The number of 5G contracts in connection with a 5G-capable device increased by 50 million to 150 million worldwide in the third quarter of 2020 alone. The current Ericsson Mobility Report therefore predicts a total of 220 million 5G contracts by the end of this year. And this trend will continue – 3.5 billion 5G contracts are expected worldwide in 2026, which will then account for 40 percent of all mobile contracts.
By 2026, the 5G market share in Western Europe will rise to 68 percent
At the moment, LTE networks still form the dominant mobile network infrastructure. In the third quarter of 2020, the global share of LTE contracts grew by 70 million. That means a total of 4.5 billion, or 57 percent of all mobile contracts. In Western Europe, LTE is the top dog with 81 percent of all contracts. But the share could fall to 29 percent by the end of 2026, as more and more users opt for 5G. This will lead to a 5G market share of 68 percent in 2026. In Uruguay Phone Number List the region, 35 service providers are already offering 5G services. With 6.5 million contracts expected by the end of 2020. In Central and Eastern Europe, according to the report, 35 percent of all mobile contracts will be 5G by the end of 2026.
Worldwide, some of the spectrum auctions planned for late 2020 or early 2021 could not take place or had to be postponed. However, this will only slow down the further expansion of 5G networks somewhat in the short term.
New functionalities such as New Radio (NR) and the market launch of 5G-capable Apple devices are further factors that could drive 5G adoption worldwide. NR will also have a decisive influence on industrial IoT use, especially for cloud-based IoT solutions that rely on fast connections and low latency . At the 5G Industry Campus in Aachen, Ericsson and its partners are already testing how new infrastructures can advance Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing processes.
Cheaper 5G smartphones expected for 2021
In addition, chip manufacturers are working on more attractively priced 5G devices for the mass market. The first 5G smartphone for less than $300 is now available outside of China and even lower prices are expected for 2021.
Another focus of the report is on the 5G network expansion, which is already very advanced in some countries. Switzerland, for example, had already made 5G available to 90 percent of its population cell phone number listing by the end of 2019. Which was due to the extensive expansion of coverage. Overall, 5G expansion in Europe was mainly driven by the use of existing LTE frequency bands, including in Germany. In the USA. On the other hand, additional frequency bands below the 6 GHz band and frequency bands in the microwave range were also open up to ensure 5G coverage. In this way, a large part of the population in the USA can be suppli with 5G.
All of these developments would mean that by 2026
Over 60 percent of the world’s population would have access to 5G networks. These fast networks would then carry more than half of global mobile data traffic. In 2026, that would be Bulk Database around 226 exabytes (EB) per month. Smartphones would be the leading access device use. More than six billion people would use 5G data services with them. As well as with laptops and other mobile devices, including for mobile games. Which would also be seen as a driver of development and an attractive 5G growth market.
