Ericsson, a Swedish telecom gear manufacturer, released its Ericsson Mobility Report for November 2024 to trace the spread and wings of the telecom industry in India and around the globe. 

What does it cover? 

The report aims to track the expansion of 5G, data usage, preferred devices, making up the metrics regarding the performance of nations, companies, etc in telecom benchmarks like Region-wise figures of Mobile subscriptions, Mobile data traffic, LTE subscriptions, and 5G subscriptions, among others.  

What does it tell about India? 

The report mentions India’s position in various aspects: 
01.    Data Traffic/ Smartphone:  An average Indian user consumes around 29 GB & 32 GB of data per month in 2023 and 2024 respectively. It has been projected to grow to a staggering 66 GB/Month with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of  13%. It is higher than the reported global average of 19GB/month in 2024-end and 2030-end projection of 40 GB/month. 
                       

02.    5G Subscriptions:

5G subscriptions in India stood at 135 Million & 272 Million in 2023 & 2024 respectively. It has been projected to reach 970 Million, accounting for around 74% of the total mobile subscriptions. 

03.    Mobile Subscriptions: Total Mobile Subscription in India stood at 880 Million & 920 Million in 2023 & 2024 respectively. It has been projected to reach 1,140 Million at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of  4%. 

Does the report predict a Decline in 4G?  

While counting on 5G growth, the report also mentions the decline in 4G as 5G reaches deeper into the streets and lanes of India. 4G subscription (LTE) is expected to decline from 640 Million in 2024-end to 240 Million in 2030-end. Eventually, 5G subscriptions will overtake 4G subscriptions by 2027. 

What does it say about the Global Scenario?  

The report also draws on the global scenario of the telecom aspects including worldwide mobile subscriptions, mobile data traffic, and total data traffic. Total 5G coverage across the world stands at 2,270 Million by the 2024 end while also projected to grow to 6,350 million by 20230-end with an annual growth rate of 19%. 

*Data and graphs have been sourced from Ericsson Mobility Report, November 2024.