As global 5G connections grow, new network capabilities are being added, says 5G Americas President
5G Americas released a global 5G progress report that indicates strong deployment progress, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic volatility. 5G Americas has revealed that, according to data from Omdia, there are now over 63.6 million global 5G connections as of Q1 2020, which represents 308.66% growth over Q4 2019.
“Globally, 5G remains the fast-growing generation of wireless cellular technology ever, even as the world is gripped with a pandemic,” confirmed Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas. “In North America, we are seeing consistent, strong uptake of new 5G subscribers as new devices have been released that can take advantage of low-band and millimeter wave frequencies. At the same time, new network capabilities are being added.”
There are now 82 5G commercial networks around the world. Further, data from TeleGeography predicts that that number will reach 206 by the end of 2020. Networks aren’t the only part of the 5G future on the rise. 5G devices are also becoming more widely available. In fact, according to the Ericsson Mobility June 2020 Report, there are now over 100 commercial 5G device models available globally, with increasing support for low-band, mid-band and millimeter frequency bands.
The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) also put out a report declaring that between the end of April and the end of May, the number of commercially available 5G devices jumped from 95 to at least 112.
In North America, specifically, there were 1.18 million 5G connections and 494 million LTE connections by the end of Q1 2020, which amounted to 100% growth in 5G, a gain of 591 thousand 5G connections over the quarter; and 2.34% growth in LTE, a gain of 11.3 million LTE connections over the quarter.
Omdia projects that 5G connections will reach 238 million globally by the end of 2020, of which North America will account for 10 million connections.
“We expect growth to pick up in the second half of the year, following the easing of lockdowns as well as continued 5G network expansion and the availability of more 5G devices,” commented Omdia Senior Analyst Kristin Paulin.
Here is a closer look at the numbers as of June 15, 2020, according to TeleGeography:
Global deployments:
5G: 82
LTE Advanced: 328
LTE: 677
North America deployments:
5G: 7
LTE Advanced: 9
LTE: 20
Latin America & Caribbean deployments:
5G: 5*
LTE Advanced: 50
LTE: 127
*Source: TeleGeography and 5G Americas.
