According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, global 6G subscriptions are expected to reach 180 million by the end of 2031, excluding early AI-enabled IoT use cases. The number could rise further if 6G launches earlier than typical generational cycles.
Commercial 6G services are likely to debut slightly later in Europe compared to leading markets, echoing the region’s later rollout of 5G Standalone. Researchers expect the first launches to come from front-runner countries including the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China, India, and select Gulf Cooperation Council nations.
Strong 5G traction continues
Enhanced mobile broadband remains the dominant 5G use case, with subscriptions projected to exceed 6.4 billion by the end of 2031. This will account for nearly two-thirds of global mobile connections. About 4.1 billion of these — roughly 65 percent — are expected to be 5G Standalone.
In 2025 alone, 5G subscriptions are set to surpass 2.9 billion, representing one third of all current mobile connections and rising by about 600 million in a single year. Around 400 million more people gained access to 5G coverage during 2025, and by year-end, half the global population outside mainland China is expected to have 5G availability.
Data traffic growth accelerates
Mobile network data traffic grew 20 percent between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, driven primarily by mainland China and India. Continued expansion is forecast at an annual average of 16 percent through 2031.
By the end of 2025, 5G networks will handle 43 percent of all mobile data traffic, up from 34 percent a year earlier. This share is expected to climb to 83 percent by 2031 as 5G Standalone becomes more widespread.
Fixed Wireless Access gains scale
Fixed Wireless Access remains a major growth area, with about 1.4 billion people projected to use FWA broadband by 2031 — 90 percent via 5G. Ericsson researchers have identified 159 providers currently offering 5G FWA services, representing roughly 65 percent of all FWA operators. The number of providers offering speed-based tariffs has risen from 43 percent to 54 percent since November 2024, signaling growing maturity in monetization models.
Rapid rise of 5G Standalone and network slicing
The November 2025 report also highlights strong progress in 5G Standalone deployments. More than 90 communications service providers have launched or soft-launched 5G SA networks, up by about 30 since the same period last year. Network slicing adoption is expanding in parallel, with 118 identified use cases across 56 providers.
Of these, 65 slicing implementations have moved into commercial stages across 33 providers, delivered as subscription offerings or add-on packages for consumers and enterprises. Notably, 21 of these commercial launches occurred in 2025 alone.
Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden noted that service providers are increasingly shifting toward value-based connectivity models. “Many service providers have moved from proof-of-concept to commercial deployment in 2025 alone, and we expect that trend to continue,” he said.
Baburajan Kizhakedath