Ericsson Mobility Report says 5G to top one billion subscriptions in 2022

North America is forecast to lead the world in 5G subscription penetration in the next five years with nine-of-every-ten subscriptions in the region expected to be 5G in 2027. The forecast is contained in the June 2022 Ericsson Mobility Report, which also predicts that current global 5G subscriptions will pass the one billion milestone by the end of 2022. 5G is also forecast to account for almost half of all subscriptions by 2027, topping 4.4 billion subscriptions. The report reveals that global mobile network data traffic doubled in the past two years. This traffic growth was driven by increased smartphone and mobile broadband usage, as well as the digitalization of society and industries. The recent statistics and forecasts highlight the strong demand data connectivity and digital services have, and are expected to have, despite the global Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical uncertainties. Several hundred million people are becoming new mobile broadband subscribers every year. The report also highlights the increasingly important role that Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is playing in the delivery of broadband services. Ericsson predicts that the number of FWA connections will exceed 100 million in 2022, a figure that is forecast to more than double by 2027, reaching almost 230 million.