India to cross 1 billion 5G subscriptions by 2031; key takeaways from Ericsson Mobility Report

India is on track to surpass 1 billion 5G mobile subscriptions by 2031, emerging as one of the world’s fastest-growing 5G markets, according to Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report released on Thursday.

The Swedish telecom gear maker said 5G subscriptions in India are expected to touch 394 million by the end of 2025, accounting for about 32% of total mobile subscriptions.

By 2031, this number is projected to more than double to over 1 billion, pushing 5G penetration to 79%.

The report projects global 5G subscriptions at 6.4 billion by the end of 2031, accounting for two-thirds of all mobile subscriptions.

"The Mobile data traffic per active smartphone in India stands at 36 GB per month, the highest in the world and is expected to grow to 65 GB per month by 2031," Nitin Bansal, MD of Ericsson India, said.

Ericsson said India’s rapid 5G adoption is being fuelled by the expansion of networks, availability of affordable fixed wireless access (FWA) customer premises equipment (CPE) and soaring data usage, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.

FWA is a wireless connection that provides broadband access to a specific location, like a home or enterprise premises.

Global 5G momentum

Worldwide, 162 million new 5G subscriptions were added in the July–September 2025 quarter, taking the global total to almost 2.8 billion.

By December, global 5G subscriptions are expected to reach 2.9 billion, about one-third of all mobile connections.

North America will lead in 5G penetration by the end of 2025, with 79% of mobile subscriptions on 5G, followed by Northeast Asia (61%) and Western Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets (55%).

Ericsson expects 5G to overtake 4G as the dominant mobile access technology globally by 2027. About 360 operators worldwide have launched commercial 5G services, more than 90 of which have deployed or soft-launched 5G standalone (SA) networks.

Data traffic surges on video and smartphone use

Global mobile network data traffic rose 20% between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025, reaching 188 exabytes (EB) per month. India and mainland China were the biggest contributors to this surge, driven by both rising smartphone subscriptions and higher data consumption per user. Video is expected to account for 76% of all mobile data traffic by the end of 2025.

Two-thirds of global mobile subscriptions to be 5G by 2031

According to the report, as an ongoing major 5G use case, enhanced mobile broadband is forecast to top 6.4 billion 5G subscriptions globally by the end of 2031, comprising about two-thirds of all mobile subscriptions at the time.

Western Europe, North America and GCC countries are projected to exceed 90% 5G penetration by 2031.

6G standardisation underway; India targets early launch

The report said standardisation work for sixth-generation (6G) networks has begun, with commercial deployments likely in early-adopter markets such as the US, China, Japan, South Korea and the GCC region.

India, which has repeatedly emphasised ambitions to lead the 6G era, is expected to be among the earlier launch markets.

Global 6G subscriptions are forecast to reach 180 million by the end of 2031, excluding early adoption of AI-enabled Internet of Things devices. The subscription uptake number could increase significantly if 6G launches earlier than previous cycles indicate.