5G to take off in 2023.

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G networks will reach a whopping 1 billion subscribers by 2023.

10:14 01 December 2017

The number represents approximately 20% of the global population.

 

5G is the next generation mobile network. It promises to transmit data to roughly 10 times faster than 4G, the current standard. This can power smartphone-based VR streaming and artificial intelligence assistants, among others. 

 

The report also predicts that North America, Northeast Asia, and Western Europe will spearhead 5G uptake. It added that by 2023, 37per cent of all mobile subscriptions in North America will be 5G. Meanwhile, 5G will account for 34per cent of mobile subscriptions in Northeast Asia.

 

The report added that North America would lead the way to 5G because of operators that have been running trials for the past couple of years. This will help them speed up deployment and adoption of the technology. 

 

On the other hand, global voice over LTE subscriptions are expected to increase by 746per cent by 2023. This is significant because the technology is seen to become the groundwork for enabling voice calls over 5G access.