5G Subscribers Could Reach 100 Million By 2025: It's Not To Early To Plan For Change

By Cheryl Knight, contributing writer

Market research company ABI Research released findings detailing expected global adoption rates of 5G by 2025. According to the findings, it will take more than five years for 5G to reach 100 million subscribers. ABI Research points out this is two years longer than it took 4G to reach this benchmark. According to a press release, the increased complexity of 5G cells and networks is one factor in predicting the slower response, which should pick up by 2023.

These findings are part of ABI Research’s LTE & 5G (https://www.abiresearch.com/market-research/service/4g/) and LTE and 5G Semiconductors (https://www.abiresearch.com/market-research/service/lte-and-5g-semiconductors/) Market Research.

Countries expected to drive 5G adoption are the U.S., China, and Japan, where companies are exploring Internet of Things (IoT) strategies.

In the press release, ABI research director Philip Solis says, “5G will be a spectrum of evolution to revolution—it will be an evolution of the way the core network and network topology is transforming now, but it will be clearly delineated as a fifth generation mobile air interface on which the mobile network of the 2020s and 2030s will be built.”

In a Cisco Blog Post, Stuart Taylor points out the anticipation over 5G includes “how it will impact the future of mobility, the Internet of Things, and ultimately the Internet of Everything.” Taylor says 5G will offer businesses and organizations “ultra-fast network speeds and an increase in capacity.”

Looking ahead, Taylor says “Regardless of your industry, the future of mobility — and next generation networks — will require every IT and business leader to redefine, reengineer, and recreate business models based on an infrastructure that is a lot more powerful and more pervasive than it is now. 5G isn’t here yet — but it is never too early to prepare and begin building a strategy.”