Its 5G time in India, by 2027

Hopefully, it at least comes with actual 4G speeds

2nd December 2021

An Ericsson Mobility Report released on Tuesday highlighted that 5G will represent around 39 per cent of mobile subscriptions in India at the end of 2027. The report added that the number of smartphone subscriptions is expected to be 810 million at the end of 2021 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7 per cent, reaching over 1.2 billion by 2027. "Smartphone subscriptions accounted for 70 per cent of total mobile subscriptions in 2021 and are projected to constitute around 94 per cent in 2027, driven by rapid smartphone adoption in the country," it said.

4G ain't going anywhere

The same report also states that 4G is expected to remain the dominant technology in 2027 with around 55 per cent subscribers. However, the 4G subscriptions are also forecast to drop from 790 million in 2021 to 710 million in 2027, showing an annual average decline of 2 per cent, this being the effect of migration to 5G.

Indians now use much more data for.....everything

Total mobile data traffic in India has grown from 9.4 EB per month in 2020 to 12 EB per month in 2021 and is projected to increase by more than 4 times to reach 49 EB per month in 2027. "This is driven by two factors: high growth in the number of smartphone users, including growth in rural areas, and an increase in average usage per smartphone.For context 1 EB=1000 petabytes and 1 petabyte=1000 terabyte.That's....a lot of data.

Additionally, the report goes on to say, "The reliance on mobile networks to stay connected and work from home has contributed to the average traffic per smartphone increasing to 18.4GB per month in 2021, up from 16.1GB per month in 2020. The average traffic per smartphone in the India region is the second-highest globally and is projected to grow to around 50GB per month in 2027,".Indeed, the Internet revolution has been exponentially accelerated by Covid, opening up new avenues to millions they themselves didn't think was possible.