5G Statistics 2021: Adoption, Benefits, and Challenges

Posted: January 24, 2022 | Last updated: January 17, 2024

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5G is the most lauded wireless standard today, and as its name suggests, it’s a step above and beyond 4G. Being the newest standard for relaying mobile data, the general public is highly anticipating the full rollout of this innovation and its impact on technology. But what are the trends and reports surrounding the 5G network? Read these 5G statistics 2021.

5G Statistics 2022

general — 5G is a business revolution, going beyond the regular operator business.

The 5G network allows for speedier downloads and advanced forms of data transmission. It would make communications faster and more scalable, impacting internet users and the social commerce industry. With the growing implementation and adoption of 5G networks, it may pose different benefits and challenges.

Is 5G coming in 2021? Will it thrive in the coming years? Check out the relevant data and statistics we’ve gathered below.

5G General Statistics

Before going into the specifics, let’s look at some general facts and data regarding the 5G network.

According to 5G Americas and Omdia, there are 236 million 5G subscriptions all over the globe to date. Experts also forecast the subscription to hike to 3 billion by 2025.
In April 2021, the total LTE and 5G deployments across the world reached 683.
The total number of worldwide 5G networks that comply with 3GPP or 3rd Generation Partnership Projects standards is now 153.
In 2021, 40% of the global volume of shipments is comprised of 5G smartphones. The global volume is expected to increase to 69% by 2025.
According to IDC 5G statistics 2021, the number of 5G smartphones shipments to the US will reach 89.5 million. In 2025, 5G smartphone shipments will crawl to 153.3 million at a 35.6% CAGR.
As per data by Statista, 21.7% of shares of the 5G infrastructure will be made up of consumer electronics and automotive applications by 2025.
Additionally, 20.1% of shares will be by industrial applications, and 15.7% will be by energy and utilities.
In 2021, the projected sales of the 5G chipset market are $3.55 billion. In 2022, it’s projected to increase to $22.86 billion at a 41% CAGR.
Among the 5G smartphone market in the US, Samsung has a market share of 74%, LG with 15%, and OnePlus with 11%.
Among 5G families with patents, Huawei has a share of 15.39%, Qualcomm has 11.24%, ZTE has 9.81%, and Samsung has 6.7%.

5G Spending and Presence

Wondering how many people are currently using 5G? The statistics below will help you find out.

In the 4th quarter of 2020, North America’s share of global LTE connections was 89.33%, followed by East and Southeast Asia and Oceania with 78.46%, Western Europe with 69.73%, and the Caribbean and Latin America with 57.59%.
Governments are investing in 5G bids to construct hyperconnected public services.
Meanwhile, China has allocated funds worth $30 billion to 5G research and development in the next five years, and Europe has reserved $1 billion for 5G relative to its Horizon 2020 project.
In the list of countries leading in 5G, South Korea is the top country with the fastest 5G download speed of 354.4 Mbps.
In terms of the fastest peak 5G download speed, Saudi Arabia is on top with a speed of 862.6 Mbps.
On the other hand, the Netherlands has an upload speed of 32.5 Mbps, making it the fastest 5G upload speed.
The number of cities with 5G coverage in Asia is as high as 528.
Meanwhile, EMEA has 459 cities, and the US has 349 cities.
China is on the top spot in terms of the number of cities where 5G is available.
5G is available in 341 cities in China, 279 cities in the US, and 85 cities in South Korea.
Moreover, 5G coverage grew by 350% in over 1,300 cities in 2021.
In the aftermath, 30% of all the world’s countries have 5G coverage.
The brand with the most number of 5G points-of-presence in the US is T-Mobile, with 287 POPs. Following T-Mobile is AT&T with 233 and Verizon with 231.
By 2024, VR’s revenue is projected to reach $22 billion.

Adoption of 5G Network and Technology Upgrade

The 5G adoption rate is increasing over time. Several countries are already shifting from 4G to 5G and investing in new technology as well. Discover more trends and reports below.

Experts predicted that in the 2nd wave of 5G, there will be a huge increase in new applications, such as automotive applications that are forecast to reach a 285% CAGR in 2021 to 2023.
With the rise of 5G, cinematic experiences may also be upgraded using technologies, such as high-end scan and capture, interactive AI, extended reality, and real-time rendering.
According to 5G statistics 2021 released by Accenture, 58% of consumers revealed that they’re excited about a connected, end-to-end extended reality experience.
Meanwhile, 84% are willing to spend for that experience.
5G can also affect a 380-degree shift in the future of live events. As revealed by IBM 2019, 55% of consumers are thrilled by concerts and music festivals that use AR experiences.
49% of eSports fans would get a 5G network once it’s out, even if they aren’t qualified for upgrading their phones.
On the other hand, 57% of consumers are most excited to UHD or 4k/8k videos on their mobile phones.
45% are looking forward to VR entertainment apps, 44% want to watch movies in 3D, 37% are thrilled about AR entertainment applications, and 33% are looking forward to 360-degree videos and 3D techniques like a hologram.
It’s expected that alongside the release of 5G networks is the adoption of VR technologies.
According to Statista, the global 5G adoption forecast says that 5G adoption will hit a billion by 2022.
With the swift adoption of 5G, companies can now deliver impressive customer service via social media.

Make the most out of your 5G connection by investing in engagement tools, such as the one in this Clarabridge Engage review.

Benefits of 5G Network

In business, both the consumers and brands can benefit from 5G in various ways. Many also believe that in the next 10 years and beyond, 5G will contribute to job growth.

The total benefit of a full-on 5G deployment for open innovation platforms in Europe costs €46 billion.
The smart production sector of Europe is seen to benefit most from the said 5G deployment, amounting to €90 billion.
By 2035, the total amount of revenue that 5G technologies will generate in sales enablement is $13.2 trillion.
In the same year, the number of expected jobs that the global 5G value chain will generate will be 22.3 million. It’s 3x more than the jobs supported by the economic output in 2019.
5G’s speed of 10Gbps is 10 to 100x greater than 4G networks.
As revealed by 5G statistics 2021, the maximum speed that 5G supports allows people to download two-hour movies in less than 10 seconds.
Remote workers are one of the beneficiaries of the 5G network. With a speedy data connection, you can surely perform your tasks smoothly and connect with your team consistently.

If you aren’t on the remote work setting yet, check out these “12 Best Remote Jobs in 2021 That Pay Well.”

Expectations on 5G

The primary expectations of people on 5G are that it will improve communication and guarantee a speedier mobile data connection. While these may hold true, there are still many 5G growth projections you need to know.

5G statistics 2021 revealed that 26% of consumers in the United States expect that 5G will greatly exceed expectations and deliver improved connectivity, while 28% think 5G will only somewhat exceed their expectations.
On the other hand, 27% of American consumers expect a 1% to 10% increase in their existing services if they upgrade to 5G.
Moreover, 21% expect an increase of 11% to 20%, and 14% expect an increase of 21-30%.
38% of gamers in emerging countries are willing to pay more if 5G would produce much superior quality streaming.
In a survey conducted by Telecoms Intelligence, 30% said that their expectations on 5G are met, 24% said that 5G isn’t as impressive as they expected it to be, and 11% said that 5G is better than what they expected it to be.
72% of users expect 5G to improve the speed of mobile data, 49% anticipate 5G to improve their mobile data coverage, and 36% expect a wide array of innovative services.
7 out of 10 consumers look forward to the availability of 5G in the market soon.
Meanwhile, 4 out of 10 consumers anticipate the availability of 5G in the market within a year.
31% of users still can’t tell if 5G met their expectations, while 30% are certain that the overall performance of 5G met theirs.

5G Challenges and Concerns

As mentioned above, every discovery poses benefits and challenges at the same time. Prepare yourself and read some of the roadblocks and security concerns regarding 5G.

According to Nokia 2019, 45% of consumers said that not possessing a 5G-powered mobile phone poses a barrier in areas where 5G is available.
Meanwhile, 44% said that services provided by 4G are sufficient for them, and 38% said that data plans by 5G are too costly.
In a 2020 survey by Futurums, 45% of respondents say that their biggest barrier to 5G adoption is its compatibility with 4G and other existing services.
On the other hand, 41% said that their barrier to 5G adoption is the unified administration of several cloud implementations.
As revealed by Forbes, the 5G network may pose some security challenges. A greater amount of data being relayed per time may also indicate more data exfiltration from hackers.
Also, 5G may require new equipment so it can work well. This can be a logistical challenge for some companies.
5G statistics 2021 revealed that the 4G to 5G transition may mean that some vulnerabilities in 4G networks can be carried over to 5G networks, posing some challenges to privacy and personal data during the transition period.
According to 2020 data by DLA Piper, 60% of European technology firms admitted that one of the biggest challenges of 5G is the required business infrastructure investment.
Meanwhile, 53% said that the increased cost of connectivity is the primary problem.

5G, Companies, and the Economy

Looking at the global 5G statistics means that you need to know the network’s impact on companies and the economy. Moreover, you might wonder how many companies have already adopted the 5G network and seen great results.

In terms of 5G smartphone shipments, Apple took the top spot with over 40 million units shipped in Q1 of 2021.
Next to Apple is Oppo, with more than 21 million shipped units.
In the 1st quarter of 2021, there were a total of 133.9 million 5G smartphones shipped, which is a significant increase from the 24 million shipments in 2020.
When it comes to compatibility, Apple still takes the top spot. Its iPhone 12 model was the best-selling 5G compatible smartphone in October 2020.
According to 5G statistics 2021, 5G’s economic impact will reach $484 billion in the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
Additionally, China will add more than $200 billion to that GDP by 2030.
A 5G network can already aid businesses in publishing engaging social media content and increasing their online sales.

Pair it with a social media management tool such as the one in this Social Horse Power review.

Gearing Towards a 5G-Enabled World

5G-enabled industry revenues for ICT players, 2026 — A quick look at the revenue statistics of 5G on different industries. | **Source**: Medium

With the growing number of people using the internet, there’s no doubt that the demand for a speedier and more reliable network will increase. Luckily, 5G has managed to surpass an impressive triple-digit growth and coverage within just a year.

People can now connect to their loved ones faster and perform near real-time data transfer, while businesses and BYOD workers can easily position themselves on the digital storefront. The bottom line is you should invest in new technology and equipment to enjoy the benefits of this network while carefully addressing the roadblocks to 5G implementation.

5G will benefit the workforce indeed, especially those who bring their own devices. Learn more about them in our article “74 BYOD Statistics 2021: Forecasts, Benefits and Market Share.”

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