Global 5G Subscriptions rise to 1.3 Billion in Q2 2023: Ericsson Report

The tremendous increase in mobile broadband subscribers, which increased by 100 million, was one of the quarter's major highlights.

According to the most recent Ericsson Mobility Report, the number of 5G subscriptions reached approximately 1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023, marking a significant milestone. This accomplishment highlights the global popularity and constant growth of high-tech mobile connectivity.

The number of mobile subscriptions worldwide hit 8.3 billion in Q2 2023, according to Ericsson, demonstrating the demand for mobile services. Additionally, during that time 40 million new subscriptions were added, highlighting the industry's ongoing expansion in the mobile space.

With an increase of 7 million new subscriptions during the quarter, India took the lead in net subscription increases. With 5 million and 3 million additional subscriptions, respectively, China and the United States quickly followed, reiterating their dominance of the international mobile market.

The tremendous increase in mobile broadband subscribers, which increased by 100 million, was one of the quarter's major highlights. As a result, there are now 7.4 billion mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide, an increase of 5% over the previous year. Additionally, according to Ericsson, 88 percent of all mobile subscriptions are currently made up of mobile broadband.

The data showed a surge of 175 million 5G subscriptions throughout the quarter, indicating that the 5G showed no indications of slowing down. With this increase, there are now about 1.3 billion 5G subscriptions worldwide. The groundwork for the next tier of mobile connectivity has already been laid by about 260 communication service providers, and about 35 have rolled out or launched 5G standalone (SA) networks.

The survey highlighted the 105 percent global penetration rate of mobile subscriptions. This figure underlines the crucial part that mobile technology plays in people's lives all across the world.

According to the research, there are 6.1 billion distinct mobile customers worldwide. Due to things like inactive subscriptions, owning numerous devices, and customized subscriptions for various call kinds, there is difference between subscriptions and subscribers.

Between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023, mobile network data traffic increased by 33%, reaching a staggering 134 exabytes per month. The rise from Q1 2023 to Q2 2023 was about 6% quarter over quarter. Ericsson ascribed this increase to the rising data volume per subscription, which is being driven by data-intensive services like video streaming, as well as the rising usage of smartphone subscriptions.

The research states that while 5G received most of the attention, 4G subscriptions showed their resiliency by rising by 11 million to a total of roughly 5.2 billion. The fact that this still represents 62% of all mobile subscriptions shows how popular 4G services are.