New market data forecasts from ABI Research aren’t painting a rosy picture of 5G availability for those impatient for its arrival.
According to the projections made, it will take more than 5 years for 5G to reach the 100 million subscriber mark—2 years longer than 4G.
ABI says the reason 4G subscriber growth was much faster than previous generations is because it was fueled by the capabilities of increasingly powerful smartphones and the availability of 4G devices.
Unfortunately, 5G subscriber growth will “likely be a bit more muted at first due to the increased complexity of 5G cells and networks.”
But by 2023, 5G will gain serious steam.
“There are a number of commonalities between countries that are early builders of 5G networks. They have a large population, of which a large percentage is living in urban areas. They also have many companies pushing the envelope with IoT strategies. These countries will drive 5G subscriber volumes,” says ABI Research Director, Philip Solis. “These are the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom in order of 5G subscribers in 2025.”
