Global 5G commercial service launches have totaled 31 by the end of the second quarter of 2019, according to IHS Markit.
The market research agency notes that the 5G commercial launches are picking up much more quickly than the previous generation 4G LTE standard, covering 17 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.
“Although the 4G/LTE standard was finalized in 2009, it wasn’t until 2012 that the pace of launches picked up, and not until the first quarter of 2013 that the total number of launches exceeded 100,” said Elias Aravantinos at IHS Markit.
“In contrast, deployments of 5G began just weeks after the standard was completed, setting the stage for the rollout of the technology in locations across the globe in less than a year.”
At this pace, the number of 5G deployments is expected to grow exponentially, with possibly hundreds of deployments per quarter during the period from 2020 to 2021, which will represent the peak of 5G deployment.
However, there are a few challenges facing the 5G uptake. While the availability of smartphones is much higher than during the 4G era, the market hasn’t seen enough 5G-compliant devices in 2019. The smartphone makers have not succeeded in supplying the devices as per the market demand.
“The lack of devices is a global problem, although some countries and companies enjoy preferential access,” Aravantinos said. “The 5G devices on the market have quickly run out of stock as the number of deployments increases.”
Because the South Korean market has been consuming most of the 5G devices already in stock, the lack of smartphones has delayed launches in several markets, pushing back the dates from 2019 to 2020.
South Korea reached 1 million 5G subscribers just 69 days after the initial launch date. This was markedly faster than the 80 days it took the country to reach its first 1 million 4G subscribers in 2011.
In the U.K. and Switzerland, operators have experienced issues with the delay in delivery of home broadband routers. This delay resulted in a sales freeze for 5G home broadband services. Huawei has been hit by a U.S. ban on buying American parts and components, which could affect its production cycle.
However, 5G this year boasts at least 20 smartphone designs available for release to the market. This demonstrates the high degree of market readiness for 5G, and its capability to attain high volumes more quickly than 4G, IHS Markit said.
Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA) are the primary use cases for 5G launches.
The split between the services varies dramatically by region. A total of 72 percent of 5G launches by European operators in the first half were exclusively for eMBB services, compared to just 50 percent of the 5G launches in the Middle East.
Some operators, mainly in the Middle East, exclusively offer FWA. In Europe and Asia, there are operators that offer both FWA and eMBB services.
Pricing plans vary from inexpensive plan upgrades for a small fee to brand new pricing plans that focus on data usage, devices, unlimited talk or other benefits such as free access to mobile TV, VR, game packs or sports streaming.
