Ericsson Mobility Report update: Global 5G subscriptions close to 1.3 billion in Q2 2023

• India continues to lead in 5G subs growth with 7m of 175m Q2 subs
• Forecast traffic growth fueled by data-intensive services such as video

India continues to lead the world in 5G subscription growth rate with more than seven million of the 175 million global subscriptions added between April and June (Q2) 2023 accounted for in the country, the August 31 Ericsson Mobility Report update shows.

The Q2 additions bring the global number of 5G subscriptions close to 1.3 billion. About 260 communications service providers (CSPs) have launched commercial 5G services. About 35 CSPs have launched 5G standalone (SA) networks.

China had the second highest country growth rate with more than five million 5G additions during Q2, followed by the United States of America with more than three million 5G subscription additions.

The four-page Aug 31 update is an addendum to the full edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, published in June 2023. It focuses on recent updates to the quarterly subscription and traffic data sections.

Looking at the growth of mobile network traffic for Q2, the quarter-on-quarter mobile network data traffic growth from Q1 2023 was around 6%. Forecast traffic (which does not include DVB-H, Wi-Fi or Mobile WiMAX though VoIP is included) growth is driven by continued strong uptake of smartphone subscriptions and an increasing average data volume per subscription, fueled by data-intensive services such as video.

There are large differences in traffic levels between markets, regions and service providers. The graph below shows the total global monthly network data traffic from Q2 2016 to Q2 2023, along with the year-on-year percentage growth for mobile network data traffic.

Other information in the Q2 update includes:

• In Q2 2023, the number of mobile subscriptions totalled 8.3 billion, with a net addition of 40 million subscriptions during the quarter. The number of unique mobile subscribers is 6.1 billion.
• Global mobile subscription penetration was 105%.
• The number of mobile broadband subscriptions grew by about 100 million in the quarter, totalling 7.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of five percent. Mobile broadband now accounts for 88% of all mobile subscriptions.
• Mobile data traffic grew by 33% between Q2 2022 and Q2 2023.
• 4G subscriptions increased by 11 million, totalling about 5.2 billion and representing 62% of all mobile subscriptions.
• WCDMA/HSPA subscriptions declined by 85 million and GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions dropped by 59 million during the quarter. Other technologies fell by about two million.