Mobile network operators have switched on an additional 30 5G networks during the second quarter of 2020, according to 5G Americas.
The total number of live 5G networks reached 114 in Q2 2020. The number of commercial 5G networks globally is expected to nearly double to 204 by the end of 2020, according to data from TeleGeography.
Overall mobile global network data traffic, including fixed wireless access, grew 53 percent over the past year, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility September 2020 Report.
There are almost 138 million 5G connections globally as of Q2 2020, which represents 116 percent growth over Q1 2020, according to data from Omdia.
Global:
5G: 114
LTE Advanced: 335
LTE: 682
North America:
5G: 7
LTE Advanced: 12
LTE: 23
Latin America & Caribbean:
5G: 10
LTE Advanced: 49
LTE: 125
There are 190 commercial 5G device models available as of the end of August, according to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).
Omdia projects 5G connections will reach 236 million globally by the end of 2020, of which North America will account for 10 million connections.
“We expect growth to pick up in the second half, following the easing of lockdowns as well as continued 5G network expansion and the availability of more 5G devices,” Kristin Paulin, senior analyst at Omdia, said.
North America had 2.3 million 5G connections and 497 million LTE connections by the end of Q2 2020.
For the region, this amounts to 69 percent quarterly growth in 5G, a gain of close to 1 million 5G connections over the quarter. It also represents 1 percent growth in LTE, a gain of 4.6 million LTE connections over the quarter.
Latin America and the Caribbean added 3,685 5G subscriptions, representing 25 percent sequential quarterly growth, and 378 million LTE subscriptions (2 percent QoQ growth), respectively.
Latin America and the Caribbean will account for an additional 189,000 5G connections by the end of 2020, based on Omdia’s projections.
Global 4G LTE connections are expected to reach 5.7 billion by the end of 2020, of which 506 million will come from North America and 406 million will come from Latin America and the Caribbean.
