Ericsson Predicts 3.5 Billion 5G Subscribers, 60% Worldwide Population Coverage by 2026

On September 28th, Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson announced at a press conference that, by 2026, 5G subscribers will total more than 3.5 billion, covering 60% of the global population.

Zhao Juntao, President of Ericsson China, said that 5G networks have been put in small-scale commercial use after extensive testing including many proofs of concept and technical tests in the last two years, but the path towards a full scale delpoyment of the technology presents a few challenges.

The world is increasingly incorporating 5G construction. The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has confirmed that the number of active 5G networks stands at 176 as of mid-August this year. China currently has the world’s largest 5G network. As of August, the country has built more than one million 5G base stations, covering all prefecture-level cities, more than 95% of counties and 35% of townships.

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In response to further efforts of 5G infrastructure construction and the increasingly complex environment faced by operators, Ericsson launched its AIR 3268, a mid-band mini-AAU product, that features low power consumption, high performance and is light weight. Compared with previous generations of products, the AIR 3268 has reduced its weight by about 40% and power consumption by about 10%. The device will be able to quickly deploy mid-band 5G services.