20 December 2022
With a near 50% penetration rate by 2028, 5G is set to become the leading mobile technology in Southeast Asia and Oceania, while fixed wireless access (FWA) is predicted to rise globally, driven by an accelerated push in the region, according to a new report from Ericsson.
Ericsson’s Mobility Report November 2022 states that most major operators in the region are expected to have begun offering commercial 5G services by the end of 2028 and, collectively, have some 620 million 5G subscribers, up from forecasts of almost 30 million for 2022. In addition, the adoption of 5G and enhanced use of novel immersive services are tipped as a key driver for growing mobile data traffic, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 30% to 54Gbps per month per smartphone in the region.
FWA is expected to boom during the reporting period. Its uptake is expected to exceed Ericsson’s earlier expectations and grow by 19% year on year globally to 2028, reaching 300 million connections. This rise will partially come from accelerated FWA plans in India, as well as expected growth in other emerging markets.
The report confirms the claim that 5G is the fastest-growing mobile connectivity generation in history, driven by “the timely availability of devices from multiple vendors, with prices falling faster than for 4G, and China’s large early 5G deployments.” Significant growth is also being recorded across North America and northeast Asia, where subscription penetration is expected to hit about 35% in each region by the end of 2022. Total subscriptions to 5G services are set to reach 1 billion by the year end and hit 5 billion by the end of 2028, despite economic hurdles around the world.
As adoption of 5G and FWA accelerates, so will efforts by operators to deploy “the latest generation of energy-efficient radio hardware and software, increase the use of renewable energy sources, and operate site infrastructure intelligently to reduce the environmental impact,” said Fredrik Jejdling, EVP and head of networks at Ericsson.
