The fifth-generation of wireless technology, 5G, is currently the best form of mobile technology. This technology enhances wireless data transmission efficiency, with notable features such as high broadband, fast speed, and low latency. The technology provides about an 800% increase in download speeds over 4G technology.
In February 2015, The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance published a guideline for the design and definition of 5G. The testing and pre-studying of the technology occurred in 2015 and 2016. By 2019, heavy efforts were put into the commercialization of the technology. The deployment of the technology, the focus of this article, began in 2020. We highlight the trend of 5G deployment in this article.
According to a report by Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunications company, at the end of 2020, about a billion people should have 5G. Reports have also indicated that, by 2025, at least a third of the world’s population will have access to 5G. There are projections that, by 2025, 5G connectivity will be led by Asia and North America.
In 2020, cellular companies in Europe, the US, Asia, Australia, and Canada deployed commercial 5G New Radio. Other countries like Russia and Madagascar carried out pre-commercial deployment.
Research has indicated that, according to the numbers of cities where 5G is available, the countries leading the 5G race are the US, South Korea, and China.
It is noteworthy that, unlike other forms of cellular technology, 5G technology is only available on devices designed to work with it. Thus, the deployment of 5G is bound to be influenced by the investments of tech companies of phone operators. The activities of the aforementioned organizations in line with 5G deployments have been encouraging.
Across the world, about 400 operators have invested in 5G fixed wireless or mobile networks. About 100 operators have also announced the launch of the protocols for mobile telecoms, 3GPP. About 100 operators from all over the world have also announced the deployment of 5G in their live network. Notable names that have joined the 5G movement and driven the deployment include Vodafone, Microsoft, and Verizon.
Predictions have also been made as regards the deployment of 5G technology in 2023. It has been predicted that, by 2023, the US will have the largest share per region of 5G connectivity, 17%. Western Europe is bound to follow with an estimated 16% regional 5G coverage.
With 5G deployments come the enhanced levels of broadband and mobile speed. As 5G is deployed across regions, significant speed increases are bound to be achieved by 2023. There are predictions that by 2023, Asia Pacific will have a broadband speed of 157 Mbps, the fastest based on 5G deployments. This will be followed by Western Europe with a broadband speed of 62 Mbps.
While the state of 5G deployment in some parts of the world is highly commendable and impressive, the opposite is the case in parts of the world like Africa. It is estimated that by 2023, Africa and the Middle East will have only about 1% regional 5G coverage.