Overview
- More than 90 operators have launched or soft-launched 5G Standalone in 2025, enabling new service models beyond data-only plans.
- Ericsson counts 65 commercial network-slicing offers across 33 providers, with 21 of those introduced this year.
- Global 5G subscriptions are forecast to reach 6.4 billion by 2031, including about 4.1 billion using Standalone 5G.
- Fixed Wireless Access is projected to serve about 1.4 billion people by 2031, with roughly 90 percent delivered over 5G.
- Mobile data traffic rose 20 percent year over year to Q3 2025, led by China and India, where usage averages 36 GB per smartphone monthly and 5G subscriptions in India are set to reach 394 million by year-end and exceed one billion by 2031.