5G mobile subscriptions to hit 150 million by 2021: Ericsson report

Global mobile subscriptions are growing around 5 per cent year-on-year, with India growing the most in terms of net additions during the quarter with +13 million subscriptions, says  new report from telecom network equipment,  manufacturer Ericsson.

Launched today, the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report , says in India, more than one new mobile subscription is activated every second.

It says the march towards 5G to open up opportunities for new industries and verticals and forecasts 150 million 5G mobile subscriptions by 2021.

South Korea, Japan, China and the US are predicted to lead with the first, and fastest, 5G subscriptions.

"5G will connect new types of devices, enabling new use cases related to the Internet of Things (IoT); the transition will open up new industries and verticals to ICT transformation," it says.

The report, a comprehensive update on mobile trends, reveals a significant increase in mobile video consumption, which is driving around six times higher traffic volumes per smartphone, in North America and Europe between 2015 and 2021.

North America data traffic per active smartphone will grow from 3.8 to 22 GB per month by 2021; in Western Europe, the increase is forecast to rise from 2 to 18 GB per month.

With 20 new mobile broadband subscriptions activated every second, global increase in mobile subscriptions is another clear driver for data traffic growth.

As of now, the number of mobile subscriptions is equal to the number of people on the planet.

"In 2016 we will reach the four billion mark for smartphone subscriptions alone," says the report.

Rima Qureshi, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, Ericsson, says, ''5G is about more than faster mobile services – it will enable new use cases related to the Internet of Things. For example, Ericsson has built a prototype test-bed for applying 5G networking functions and data analytics to public transport, which can save resources, reduce congestion, and lower environmental impact. ICT transformation will become even more common across industries as 5G moves from vision to reality in the coming years.''

Other highlights from the current Ericsson Mobility Report include:

• Video dominates data traffic: Global mobile data traffic is forecast to grow 10-fold by 2021, and video is forecast to account for 70 per cent of total mobile traffic in the same year. In many networks today, YouTube accounts for up to 70 per cent of all video traffic, while Netflix's share of video traffic can reach as high as 20 percent in markets where it is available.
• Mainland China overtakes the US as world's largest LTE market: By the end of 2015, Mainland China will have 350 million LTE subscriptions – nearly 35 per cent of the world's total LTE subscriptions. The market is predicted to have 1.2 billion LTE subscriptions by 2021.
• Africa becomes an increasingly connected continent: Five years ago (2010) there were 500 million mobile subscriptions across Africa; by the end of 2015 this number will double to 1 billion. Increased connectivity improves the prospect of financial inclusion for the 70 per cent unbanked through mobile money services starting to take form across Africa.
• ICT powers the low-carbon economy: ICT will enable savings in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all other industrial sectors. The total emission reduction could be up to 10 gigatonnes of CO2e, representing about 15 per cent of global GHG emissions in 2030 – more than the current carbon footprint of the US and EU combined.