VIAVI Solutions, in its latest “The State of 5G” report, says that 5G connectivity has reached a tipping point globally. 5G networks are now active in 47 of the world’s 70 largest economies by GDP. The report counts 2,497 cities in “The State of 5G” across 92 countries with commercial 5G networks. Another 23 countries have pre-commercial 5G trials underway and 32 countries have announced their 5G intentions. There are 48 countries, generally smaller island nations, that have not publicly announced plans for 5G.
The data also revealed several major trends relating to 5G deployments.
Of note, the report shows that the U.S. has surpassed China in the number of cities where 5G is deployed. There are now 503 U.S. cities with 5G, up 69 percent from 297 in May 2022. By comparison, China’s tally of 5G cities has remained unchanged at 356 since VIAVI’s June 2021 update. However, China still leads in key 5G metrics including data speeds, subscribers and installed base stations. Continue Reading
A total of 18 countries announced their first 5G deployments in 2022. The new 5G countries include two of the largest developing economies, India and Mexico, as well as other emerging economies in parts of Africa and Latin America.
As well, the manufacturing sector has become the prime application for private 5G networks globally, accounting for 44 percent of the publicly announced projects. Private 5G networks are being deployed in logistics, education, transportation, sports, utilities, and mining sectors.
Furthermore, 5G Standalone networks, considered to be “true 5G,” are rapidly gaining momentum. With 5G SA, MNOs use a new 5G core that operates independently of existing 4G infrastructure. As of January 2023, there were 45 5G SA networks in place across 23 countries. That figure is up from 24 NSA networks globally in January 2022. With 5G SA networks, MNOs can enable new commercial applications; consumers and businesses in those countries should notice improved network speeds.
Finally, many countries are interested in deploying 5G using millimeter wave spectrum, generally considered to be 24 GHz and above. mmW spectrum offers significant benefits to MNOs with the highest speeds, lowest latency and greatest bandwidth capacity. However, mmW use tends to be very application-specific because of its short propagation ranges, higher equipment costs and the need for dense deployments.
“2022 was 5G’s graduation year,” commented Sameh Yamany, CTO at VIAVI Solutions. “It evolved from being a developed markets phenomenon into a global phenomenon. On a technical level too, with a near doubling of Standalone 5G networks, the capabilities of 5G have expanded significantly and we can look forward to more sophisticated network and business capabilities from operators. In the coming year, a major focus will be network quality and the further development of Open RAN technologies – and we’ll be playing our part in ensuring those are as successful as possible.”
Download a copy of “The State of 5G” infographic here.
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