5G deployments have started gaining pace around the world. While there is a lot of noise, there is quite a bit of progress with real network launches, handset introductions, consumer adoption, new applications and services. Chetan Sharma Consulting started Global 5G Update research service to help executives make informed, strategic and business decisions, to understand the trends and how they might shape their product roadmaps. There are five countries leading the way – China, Korea, India, Japan, and the US. 5G is a unique cycle. Operators need to be really strategic about how they deploy CAPEX and plan new revenue generation 4th Wave strategies. The structure of the wireless industry is likely to look quite different coming out of the 5G cycle than going in. There are early indications of how this might pan out but operators, regulators, and the encompassing ecosystem needs to adjust to the new realities, fast.
The global 5G subscriber base crossed 1.60B in Q2 2024 which is still at a 2x faster pace compared to 4G global adoption. During Q2 2024, the global subscriber base shot up 13% with China accounting for roughly 58% of the global subscriber base. US, China, South Korea and Japan are the top four nations to pass the $3 Billion/quarter mark in 5G revenues. China Mobile has the greatest number of 5G global subs, now over 820M. Korea, US, China, and Japan are over 50% penetration. Korea is the first country to have 5G contribute to over 85% of its mobile data traffic. US operators have been expanding their networks at a good clip as well. India crossed US to become number two in 5G subs. Jio replaced China Mobile has the operator with most data traffic. In fact, the top two Indian operators have been on the rise are now amongst the only 7 operators with valuation over $100 Billion. US has three in this exclusive club, Europe and China one each.
Hundreds of 5G handsets are entering into the ecosystem. However, the real competition will be in the new billion-dollar revenue streams that get created. For ecosystem players who seek to develop a platform based on 5G, the work is just starting.
Global 5G Update provides strategic insights and a snapshot of the salient points on 5G progress in Q2 2024:
- 5G in Q2 2024
–Overview
–Summary
–5G Race
–Subs and Penetration
- 5G Data Consumption
- 5G impact on ARPU
–5G Revenue
- 5G Progress
–China
–Korea
–Japan
–US
–India
–Rest of the World