Ericsson noted that some 136 million 5G subscriptions were added globally during Q4 2022
Global 5G subscriptions reached the 1 billion at the end of 2022, according to the latest update of the Ericsson Mobility report.
The report showed that some 136 million 5G subscriptions were added globally during the last quarter of 2022.
The report also stated that a total of 235 communications service providers (CSPs) had launched commercial 5G services globally at the end of last year, while about 35 carriers have deployed or launched 5G Standalone (SA) networks.
At the end of the year, the total number of mobile subscriptions reached around 8.4 billion, with a net addition of 39 million subscriptions during the quarter. Ericsson noted that Nigeria accounted for the most net additions during the quarter, with over 4 million, followed by the Philippines and Indonesia.
Also, global mobile subscription penetration was 106% at the end of the year. The region with the highest mobile penetration at end-2022 was Central/Eastern Europe, with 138%, followed by Western Europe (130%), China (121%) and Asia-Pacific (118%). In North America, the penetration of mobile services at the end of last year was 109%, according to Ericsson.
Meanwhile, the number of mobile broadband subscriptions grew by about 80 million in Q4 2022, totaling 7.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5%. Mobile broadband accounted for 86% of all mobile subscriptions at the end of last year.
The update also showed that 4G subscriptions increased by 36 million during Q4 2022 to around 5.1 billion, accounting for 60% of all mobile subscriptions.
Global 5G subscriptions are forecast to reach five billion by the end of 2028, despite current and developing economic challenges in many parts of the world, according to the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, published in December 2022.
The report also forecasts a higher than expected expansion in the fixed wireless access (FWA) segment at a global level. The Swedish vendor noted that FWA is one of the major early 5G use cases, particularly in regions with unserved or underserved broadband markets.
FWA is forecast to grow at 19% year-on-year through the 2022-28 period, to reach 300 million connections by the end of 2028. This growth will be chiefly driven by accelerated FWA plans in India, and expected growth in other emerging markets.
Ericsson highlighted that more than three-quarters of communications service providers surveyed in more than 100 countries currently offer FWA services.
Almost one-third of CSPs are offering FWA over 5G, compared to one-fifth a year ago. Almost 40% of the new 5G FWA launches in the past 12 months have been in emerging markets, according to the Ericsson report.