Nitin Bansal Says 5G to Drive India Toward 1 Billion Subscriptions

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report released on Thursday, India is predicted to reach 1 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2031, propelled by low-cost 5G devices and increasing network availability, despite the fact that it currently holds the highest mobile data usage per smartphone globally.

The report states that by the conclusion of 2025, India is projected to have 394 million 5G subscriptions, accounting for 32 percent of the nation’s total mobile connections.

India's monthly mobile data usage per active smartphone is currently 36 GB—the highest in the world—and is projected to increase to 65 GB per month by 2031.

Nitin Bansal, managing director at Ericsson India, pointed out that 5G has emerged as the foundation of digital transformation across the nation.

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He stated, "The presence of cost-effective 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) customer equipment and elevated data usage by FWA users are driving a surge in data traffic." FWA, providing wireless broadband access to residences and businesses, is becoming a significant 5G application in India.

Worldwide, 5G subscriptions are expected to hit 6.4 billion by 2031, representing two-thirds of total mobile subscriptions. Out of these, 4.1 billion are anticipated to be connected to 5G Standalone (SA) networks, which function independently of existing 4G infrastructure and offer advanced capabilities like network slicing. In the meantime, global 6G subscriptions are projected to hit 180 million by 2031.

The Ericsson report further emphasizes that by the end of 2025, 5G networks are expected to manage 43 percent of global mobile data traffic, an increase from 34 percent the previous year.

This share is projected to increase to 83 percent by 2031. By 2031, Fixed Wireless Access broadband is projected to serve 1.4 billion users worldwide, with 90 percent of these users utilizing 5G technology.