India to see 500 mn 5G mobile subscriptions by 2027: Report

The number of smartphone subscriptions is expected to be 810 million at the end of 2021 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7 per cent, reaching over 1.2 billion by 2027 in the country, according to the mobility report by Swedish telecommunication giant Ericsson.

The average traffic per smartphone in the India region is the second-highest globally and is projected to grow to around 50GB per month in 2027.

"Total mobile data traffic in India has grown from 9.4 EB (exabyte) per month in 2020 to 12 EB per month in 2021 and is projected to increase by more than 4 times to reach 49EB per month in 2027," the report projected.

According to Nitin Bansal, Head of Ericsson India and Head of Network Solutions for South east Asia, Oceania and India, Ericsson, 5G will serve as a socio-economic multiplier for the country.

"We are preparing the communication service providers for a seamless introduction of 5G in the country based on our global deployment experience , our innovative and competitive 5G portfolio as well as the 5G trials we are doing with Indian operators to showcase the possibilities with 5G," Bansal said in a statement.

In the India region, 4G is expected to remain the dominant technology in 2027, however the 4G subscriptions are forecast to drop from 790 million in 2021 to 710 million in 2027, showing an annual average decline of 2 per cent.

The reliance on mobile networks to stay connected and work from home has contributed to the average traffic per smartphone increasing to 18.4GB per month in 2021, up from 16.1GB per month in 2020. 

The average traffic per smartphone in the India region is the second-highest globally and is projected to grow to around 50GB per month in 2027, the report mentioned.

Ericsson recently carried out 5G trials with Airtel and Vi, where it demonstrated enhanced mobile broadband and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) use cases with 5G.

Globally, there has been almost 300-fold increase in mobile data traffic since 2011, the report noted.