5G Connection: GSMAi Predicts 5.5 Billion Connections By 2030

GSMA Intelligence has predicted that by 2030, global 5G connections will reach 5.5 billion, constituting 51 percent of all mobile connections.

According to its “Mobile Economy 2024” report, the London-based research firm indicates that 5G is the fastest mobile generation rollout yet, surpassing one billion connections by the end of 2022 and rising to 1.6 billion connections by the end of 2023.

As of January 2024, GSMA Intelligence reports that 261 operators across 101 countries have launched commercial 5G services, with over 90 operators from 64 markets committed to rollouts.

Among the 261 commercial 5G services, 47 are provided by 5G Standalone (SA) networks, with an additional 89 planned deployments in the near term that will leverage network slicing, ultra-reliable low-latency communications support, and simplified 5G SA network architecture.

The report indicates that the growth of available 5G SA networks and improved support for private and dedicated networks will facilitate a significant number of connected devices and contribute to realizing the global IoT vision for the enterprise. GSMA Intelligence data shows that the enterprise segment currently boasts 10.7 billion IoT connections, surpassing the 10.5 billion consumer connections.

This momentum is expected to continue, with enterprise connections projected to more than double to 38.5 billion by 2030, with smart buildings and smart manufacturing accounting for 34 percent and 16 percent of total enterprise connections, respectively.

Also Read:5G, Fintech Innovation to Drive Telecom Sector in 2023

The report further states that over half of operators anticipate initiating the deployment of 5G-Advanced within a year of the commercial availability of 5G-Advanced solutions. This is driven by priority use cases such as 5G multicast services and low-cost IoT support.

The Head of GSMAi, Peter Jarich said “The early success of 5G was driven by enhanced mobile broadband (EMBB) and EMBB-related network traffic requirements. Yet, while consumer requirements will continue their trajectory, we’re now seeing use cases beyond that.

“Opportunities are now appearing in areas including API monetisation and 5G RedCap for enterprise IoT – all supported by 5G-Advanced and 5G SA networks.

 5G SA brings home 5G’s early promise, particularly where slicing, low-latency and massive IoT capabilities tied to enterprise service needs can be met. 5G-Advanced will only extend that further.’’

GSMAi predicts a substantial increase in mobile data traffic by 2030, with a fourfold rise, driven by expansions in 5G coverage and capacity, underlining the necessity for ongoing infrastructure investments.

The report predicts that monthly global mobile data traffic per connection will surge from 12.8 GB in 2023 to 47.9 GB in 2030.

Regarding the expanding utilization of Generative AI, the report reveals that 56% of operators are presently experimenting with applications that are likely to contribute to this growth.

This will be driven by applications including the use of GenAI-enabled chatbots for customer service efforts or the continued growth of AI-generated video and music content, the report stated.

“New use cases will deliver new revenue streams for operators – which in turn brings a new focus to billing for 5G services. As more 5G SA networks become available, a new standard for billing was required to support the rollout of advanced network services and the flexible billing process that 5G SA cores offer.’’