The global 5G connection reached a momentous 1.76 billion in 2023. The technology saw the new addition of 700 million subscribers in a single year bolstering the ever-growing growth of the fifth-generation cellular standard. At the same time, the global 5G data traffic could reach 2.6 billion TB by 2028 as per data by 5G Americas and Omdia.
But it’s not just the 5G that’s seeing unprecedented growth. In Latin America, the current-generation 4G technology still showed enough relevancy during the year. The LTE connections reached 582 million at the end of 2023 in the South American region. The year saw the addition of 40 million new connections year-to-year in the same year.
The region also continued to embrace the 5G migration as 39 million new 5G connections were registered by the end of 2023.
“4G LTE is still the strongest technology across the region,” declares Jose Otero, Vice President of Latin America, and the Caribbean for 5G Americas, “although various factors, including 5G handset mass market availability and completion of spectrum auctions will see an increase in 5G coverage, and subscriber growth in the coming year.”
A recent ITU data highlighted that 5.4 billion people were online in 2023 thanks in part to 5G adoption. It seems the advancements in 5G technologies are only beginning to show major progress.
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5G connection reaches a landmark growth in North America in 2023
Of all, North America stood out in 5G adoption leaving the giants like China, South Korea, and others. The region saw 64% year-to-year growth in 5G connections adding 77 million new 5G connections. According to the report, the total number of North American 5G connections reached 197 million in 2023.
Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas said, “The wireless telecommunications industry stands at the cusp of a new era, driven by innovation, collaboration, and a shared vision for a connected future. With Fixed Wireless Access continuing to drive consumer broadband demand, new technology milestones are advancing unparalleled connectivity experiences worldwide.”
In the meantime, Omdia projects that 5G adoption will soar in the coming years as more states continue to upgrade their existing telco infra for next-generation wireless technologies. The global analyst expects 5G connections to reach a whopping 7.9 billion by 2028, just 4 years away. In its estimation too, the North American region is believed to lead the revolution by boasting 700 million 5G connections.
Omdia principal analyst Kristin Paulin states, “With this forecast, 5G will reach the global milestone of accounting for more than half of all connections by 2028. For North America, as an early leader, 5G will be more than 80% of connections.”
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5G data traffic to reach 2.6 billion TB by 2028
At the same time, 5G data traffic is estimated to rise to 76% of all mobile networks including 2G/3G/4G LTE. As per the projection, 5G global data traffic will rise to 2.6 billion TB by 2028. Likewise, all mobile network data traffic will contribute to 3.4 billion TB during the same period.
As 5G adoption accelerates, the Internet of Things (IoT) will also mark significant growth. The IoT subscription will grow from 3.1 billion currently to 4.5 billion. Similarly, the current 5G smartphone subscription stands at 6.6 billion which will reach 7.4 billion by 2026.
The data also states that the 5G adoption is outpacing the 4G LTE growth if not leading to its fewer use cases. Because it will only be a matter of time before 5G growth will run in parallel with the shutting down of older legacy networks. In North America, the number of 5G deployed networks has already matched 4G LTE networks. At present, there are 314 commercial 5G networks globally which could grow to 450 by 2025.
5G and 4G LTE deployments in summary
Here is the breakdown of the number of 5G and 4G network deployments in summary as of March 18, 2024:
| Global | North America | Latin America and Caribbean | |
| 5G | 314 | 17 | 39 |
| 4G | 714 | 18 | 135 |
Meanwhile, Nepal is getting closer to the 5G launch. Currently, Nepal Telecom is running a 5G trial at its offices in some cities. 4G at the moment remains the most potent form of connectivity with the latest data showing the all-Nepal 4G user base of over 2.04 crore.
