The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) today revealed key 5G milestones passed in 2020.
By mid-December 2020, 412 operators in 131 countries/territories were investing in 5G, while today there are 806 public LTE networks.
5G services are now launched in all regions, including 85 networks in EMEA, 35 in APAC and 15 in the Americas.
Out of 185 private network deployments and pilots, 65 percent are using LTE technology, 28 percent are deployed over 5G, while 7 percent are using a combination of LTE and 5G.
136 operators have licensed/deployed/deploying C-Band spectrum.
85 operators have mmWave at 26/28 GHz licences with 24 deploying/deployed.
36 auctions / assignments are expected in 700 MHz by end 2022.
104 vendors announced 519 5G devices, with 303 commercially available (up from 162 at the end of July).
Looking ahead to 2021, GSA is forecasting more spectrum activity, with over 75 auctions/assignments underway or expected by the end of 2022.
GSA anticipates there being over 500 commercial devices by the end of 2021. It is expected that the milestone of 200 launched 5G networks will be reached in the same timescale based on the current trajectory.
GSA expects to see an acceleration in the deployment of 5G standalone networks in the coming year; while there are just three launched so far, another 56 operators are known to be investing, of which 13 are already understood to be deploying.
