India's 5G services are still in trial phase only. Big players like Jio and Bharti Airtel are testing their own capabilities. But analysts are already predicting that the country's 5G subscribers base may touch 330 million by 2026. This will represent around 26% of the mobile subscriptions, according to the Ericsson Mobility Report 2021.
The report said that at least 40 million smartphone users in India could take up 5G in the first year of its introduction, with consumers even willing to pay 50% more for 5G plans with bundled digital services.
Interestingly, India's average data consumption per smartphone at 14.6 GB per month is the second-highest in the world.
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But 4G will be dominate the market
In India, the 4G subscriptions are forecast to rise from 680 million in 2020 to 830 million in 2026.
"4G remained the dominant technology in 2020, accounting for 61% of mobile subscriptions. The technology will continue to be dominant, representing 66% of mobile subscriptions in 2026, with 3G being phased out by that time. 5G will represent around 26% of mobile subscriptions," the Ericsson report said.
Smartphone subscriptions accounted for 72% of total mobile subscriptions in 2020 and are projected to constitute over 98% in 2026, driven by rapid smartphone adoption in the country, the report added.
Nitin Bansal, Head of Ericsson India and Head of Network Solutions for South east Asia, Oceania and India, said: “The average monthly mobile data usage per smartphone continues to show robust growth, boosted by people increasing their smartphone usage while staying at home.”
Data consumption in India is very high
The average traffic per smartphone user in India has increased from 13 GB per month in 2019 to 14.6 GB per month in 2020. The average traffic per smartphone in the India region stands second highest globally and is projected to grow to around 40 GB per month in 2026.
Total mobile data traffic in India has grown from 6.9 EB/month to 9.5 EB/month in 2020 and is projected to increase by more than four times to reach 41 EB/month in 2026.
"Data consumption in India is very high because people are using smartphone to work from home and also the penetration of smartphone is high in India," Ericsson Mobility Report (EMR) Editor Patrik Cerwall said.
The report has increased forecasts for South East Asia and Oceania, as well as for India, with India remaining a region with one of the highest monthly usage per smartphone rates, at around 15 GB at the end of 2020.
"An additional 430 million smartphone subscriptions are expected in India during the forecast period, taking the total to over 1.2 billion in 2026," the report said.
