GSMA forecasts that 5G connections will represent 14% of total mobile connections in the APAC region by 2025
5G connections in Asia Pacific (APAC) are expected to reach 430 million in 2025, up from 200 million at end-2021, according to a recent report by industry association GSMA.
According to the ‘Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2022’ report, 5G services are commercially available in 14 markets, with India and Vietnam expected to go live in the coming months.
The report also forecasts that 5G connections will represent 14% of total mobile connections in the APAC region by 2025. The figure will be much higher (67% on average) in developed Asia Pacific, which comprises Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. “In these markets, 4G adoption has begun to decline; however, the technology still has significant room to grow elsewhere in the region, particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia,” GSMA said.
In South Korea, 5G connections accounted for 33% of total mobile connections, while this technology will represent 73% of total connections in 2025.
In Singapore, 5G will account for 55% of the country’s overall mobile lines in 2025 compared to 5% last year.
The report also forecasts that 5G will represent 68% of the overall mobile lines in 2025, up compared to 12% last year.
In India, where the government expects to kick off a much-awaited 5G spectrum auction this month, 5G will account for 7% of total mobile lines in 2025, according to the GSMA report.
The GSMA noted while mobile broadband networks reached nearly 96% of the region’s population at end-2021, just 44% use mobile internet services. The figure is expected to climb to 52% by 2025.
The reasons for this discrepancy include lack of digital skills, affordability and online safety concerns.
“Addressing the usage gap and extending the benefits of the internet to more people in society is critical,” said GSMA’s Head of Asia Pacific Julian Gorman. “However, it will require a concerted effort by a broad range of stakeholders, working together with mobile operators and other ecosystem players such as device manufacturers and digital content creators, to drive adoption and overcome the barriers we see today.”
The GSMA report also forecasts that the adoption of 4G services in Asia Pacific is expected to peak at 71% in 2023 and decline to 69% by 2025.
According to the report, mobile technologies and services continue to make a significant contribution to Asia Pacific’s economy, generating 5% of GDP in the region in 2021, which equates to around $770 billion of economic value.
Other predictions include smartphone penetration rising from 73% in 2021 to 83% in 2025 and total IoT connections from 2.1 billion last year to 3.3 billion in 2025.
