A multinational networking and telecommmunications company, Ericsson, on Tuesday forecasts that there would be 1.9 billion 5G subscriptions globally by the end of 2024.

Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks, who made this known in the mobility report released by the company for June 2019, said that there was an increase of about 27 per cent from November 2018 report which was 1.5 billion.

He noted that other forecasts have also increased notably as a result of the rapid 5G uptake.

“5G coverage is forecast to reach 45 percent of the world’s population by end of 2024. This could surge to 65 percent, as spectrum sharing technology enables 5G deployments on Long Term Evolution(LTE) frequency bands.

“Communication service providers in several markets have switched on 5G following the launch of 5G-compatible smartphones.

“Service providers in some markets are also setting more ambitious targets for population coverage of up to 90 percent within the first year,” he said.

According to the report, smartphones for all main spectrum bands are slated to hit the market over the course of this year.

Jejdling said that as 5G devices increasingly become available, more than 10 million 5G subscriptions are projected worldwide by the end of 2019.

According to the report, the uptake of 5G subscriptions is expected to be fastest in North America, with 63 percent of anticipated mobile subscriptions in the region being for 5G in 2024.

He added that North East Asia with 47 per cent follows in second place and Europe in third with 40 per cent.

“5G is definitely taking off and at a rapid pace. This reflects the service providers’ and consumers’ enthusiasm for the technology.

“5G will have positive impact on people’s lives and businesses, realizing gains beyond the IoT and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, “Jejdling said.

He however noted that the full benefits of 5G could only be reaped with the establishment of a solid ecosystem, in which technology, regulatory, security, and industry partners all had a part to play.

The report also projects that the total mobile data traffic continued to soar globally in Q1 2019, up 82 percent year-on-year.

He said that there were 1 billion cellular IoT connections globally, a figure that is expected to rise to 4.1 billion by the end of 2024.

(NAN)