Bangkok February 2021

BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT
ERICSSON PROJECTS THAT FOUR OUT OF EVERY
TEN MOBILE SUBSCRIPTIONS IN 2026 WILL BE 5G
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC)
projects that four out of every ten
mobile subscriptions in 2026 will be
5G. This forecast is included in the
latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility
Report. Current 5G uptake in
subscriptions and population coverage
confirms the technology as
deploying the fastest of any generation
of mobile connectivity. The
report estimates that by the end of
2020, more than 1 billion people -
15 percent of the world's population
- will live in an area that has
5G coverage rolled out. 220 million
global 5G subscriptions are also
expected by the end of this year.
In 2026, 60 percent of the world's
population will have access to 5G
coverage, with 5G subscriptions
forecast to reach 3.5 billion, estimated
to account for more than 50
percent of mobile data traffic at that
time. In South East Asia and
Oceania, 5G is predicted to be the
second most popular technology in
2026, only behind LTE, surpassing
380 million subscriptions and accounting
for 32 percent of all mobile
subscriptions.
Nadine Allen, Head of Ericsson
Thailand, says: "5G will enhance
existing digital services and use
cases like video streaming, sports
streaming, mobile gaming and
smart home services. Augmented
Reality (AR) alone is likely to
drive more than half of all overall
immersive media revenues for service
providers compared with other
services like cloud gaming,VR content
and in-venue digital services.
AR gaming is likely to be the main
initial driver for AR. Other application
areas for AR, such as TV and
video viewing, home planning and
school and educational usage,
will follow.""Being the first nation
in Southeast Asia to roll out 5G,
people in Thailand have already
started to experience some of the
key benefits of 5G for consumers.
Meanwhile, Ericsson Thailand is
working closely with the Royal Thai
Government as well as the ecosystem
players in Thailand to support
the country's digital transformation,
which mainly involves Industry 4.0
and 5G for enterprises. The success
of 5G in the consumer market
will be crucial for service providers,
underpinning the network expansion
to enable them to also target
new use cases for industries and
enterprises." In South East Asia
and Oceania, total mobile data traffic
continues to grow steadily with
a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 33 percent for the
forecast period. It is expected to
reach 32EB per month in 2026,
equivalent to 33GB per month per
smartphone. Growth in mobile
data consumption has translated
into more diversified and generous
data plans from mobile operators
across different geographies. The
second half of this year has also
seen a number of commercial 5G
launches in South East Asia and
Oceania with live networks now
in Australia, New Zealand and
Thailand. Upcoming spectrum
auctions planned for 2021 in countries
like Vietnam and Malaysia will
bring additional 5G deployments
next year. The Ericsson Mobility
report highlights why 5G success
will not be limited to coverage or
subscription numbers alone. Its
value will also be determined by
new use cases and applications,
the first of which have already
started to emerge. Critical IoT, intended
for time-critical applications
that demand data delivery within a
specified time duration, will be introduced
in 5G networks. This will
enable a wide range of time-critical
services for consumers, enterprises
and public institutions across
various sectors, with 5G public
and dedicated networks. Cloud
gaming is another emerging application
category. The combined capabilities
provided by 5G networks
and edge compute technologies
will enable game streaming services
on smartphones to compete
with a quality of experience (QoE)
that is on par with PC or console
counterparts, opening up for innovative,
immersive games based on
mobility.
According to the new Harnessing
the 5G Consumer Potential
report from Ericsson ConsumerLab,
the 5G consumer market
could be worth USD 31 trillion
by 2030 globally, with communications
service providers
(CSPs) earning USD 3.7 trillion
of that total - a figure that could
increase further as new adjacent
digital services opportunities
arise. In South East Asia,
Oceania and India the report
estimates that CSPs could earn
USD 297 bn in 5G-enabled consumer
revenues by 2030. 79%
of the total service provider 5G
digital services revenue , estimated
at 7.5B USD by 2030,
will be driven by enhanced
video and HiFi music. 5G digital
services include video, music,
gaming, augmented/virtual
reality and consumer IoT services.
Download the November
2020 edition of the Ericsson
Mobility Report.
Email: ben.hightowerltd@gmail.com
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