According to a study from Ovum, 5G technology will reach 24 million subscribers by the end of 2021. The study has forecast that North America and Asia will each amount for more than 40 per cent of global 5G subscriptions by 2021, followed by Europe with more than 10 per cent, and the Middle East and Africa accounting for the rest. The US, Japan, China and South Korea expected to be the most advanced markets.
“The main use case for 5G through 2021 will be enhanced mobile broadband services, although fixed broadband services will also be supported, especially in the U.S.,” said Mike Roberts, Ovum practice leader.
“Over time, 5G will support a host of use cases including Internet of Things and mission-critical communications, but Ovum does not believe those use cases will be supported by standardised 5G services through 2021.”
South Korea is expected to be the most advanced market in terms of 5G development. The nation’s government expects its local mobile operators will be able to trial 5G services throughout 2017 and then introduce commercial services in December 2020.