India to reach 31 million 5G connections at end-2022: Ericsson

Ericsson forecasts a total of 690 million 5G subscribers in India by the end of 2028

5G subscriptions in India are expected to reach 31 million at the end of this year, according to the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility report.

The Ericsson report also forecasted that 5G subscribers in the Asian nation will reach 690 million at the end of 2028.

“In early October, service providers in India announced the launch of commercial 5G services. Initially, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) will be the main use case in India. Meanwhile 4G continues to be the dominant subscription type driving connectivity growth,” Ericsson said.

4G subscriptions are expected to peak in India in 2024 at around 930 million, but will experience a gradual decline to an estimated 570 million by the year 2028.

The report noted that the rapid growth of 5G in the Indian market will be chiefly due to the aggressive 5G deployments by service providers, coupled with growing affordability and availability of 5G smartphones.

“5G will represent around 53% of mobile subscriptions in the region at the end of 2028. Total mobile subscriptions in India are estimated to grow to 1.3 billion in 2028,” Ericsson added.

Reliance Jio Infocomm already launched the beta trial of its 5G services in parts of Mumbai, Varanasi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nathdwara, Pune, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gujarat.

The carrier confirmed that its 5G service is offered through the 5G Standalone architecture and through a mix of wireless spectrum across the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz bands. It uses carrier aggregation that combines these 5G frequencies.

Bharti Airtel is already offering 5G services in 12 cities across India, according to local press reports.

In October, Bharti Airtel launched 5G services in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Nagpur and Varanasi. The telco’s 5G offering is also currently available in parts of Gurugram, Panipat, Guwahati and Patna.

Airtel is currently using equipment from Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung to provide 5G services. The Indian operator had secured a total of 19,800 megahertz of spectrum in the 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 3.3 GHz and 26 GHz bands.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea is currently in talks with several venders for the supply of 5G gear. The telco is also seeking to obtain financial resources for the launch of its 5G network.

Indian state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) could launch 5G services by August of next year, according to recent press reports.

5G telecom networks are expected to represent nearly 2% of India’s GDP by 2030, according to a recent report by India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Arthur D. Little.

The report anticipates that the 5G sector will generate revenues of nearly $180 billion by 2030.