telecommunications
Number of 5G mobile communications contracts in Western Europe will double in 2023
According to experts, the boom in 5G usage will pose a technical challenge to mobile phone providers’ networks. photo
© Friso Gentsch/dpa
More and more mobile phone customers are ready to book a contract for the 5th mobile phone generation (5G). The benefits could become even clearer if a particular frequency band were used more extensively.
After mobile phone providers invested billions in expanding their networks for the fifth generation of mobile phones, 5G is slowly becoming a box office hit.
According to an analysis by mobile communications equipment provider Ericsson (5G), the number of 5G contracts will increase Western Europe will double this year. At the end of 2022, researchers recorded 67 million 5G contracts in Western Europe. By the end of 2023 there should be 139 million. This emerges from the Ericsson Mobility Report, which was published in Stockholm. This corresponds to a market share of 25 percent.
Internationally, North America is still way ahead. 61 percent of all mobile phone contracts there include the option for customers to use a modern 5G network. In Northeast Asia the proportion is 41 percent and in the Gulf region it is 34 percent.
Western Europe will catch up by 2029
In the medium and long term, however, the Ericsson report predicts a change in top positions. Western Europe will catch up by 2029 and will then have 85 percent of all contracts for 5G. North America (92 percent) and the Gulf Cooperation Council region (92 percent) can only just defend their lead. Northeast Asia (79 percent) is at risk of falling behind.
According to Ericsson experts, the boom in 5G usage will pose a technical challenge to mobile phone providers’ networks. The previously frequently used frequencies in the range below 1 gigahertz would make it possible to cover large areas. In terms of capacity and speeds, they would not be able to keep up with the mid-spectrum frequencies around 3.5 GHz.
“With extremely fast data rates, this mid-band creates the conditions to enable new use cases and offer customers a completely new experience,” said Daniel Leimbach, Western Europe boss at Ericsson. Medium band coverage in Western Europe will only be 25 percent by the end of 2023. Compared to leading 5G nations, the Europeans are far behind: North America is at 85 percent and China is at 95 percent.