New Delhi, Nov 20 India is set to cross 1 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2031, a new report said on Thursday.
This would give the country a 79 per cent 5G subscription penetration, reflecting rapid growth in adoption just three years after the service began rolling out nationwide, according to the November 2025 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report.
The report highlights that India is one of the fastest-growing 5G markets globally.
Ericsson India MD Nitin Bansal said that mobile data usage in India is the highest in the world, with average consumption at 36 GB per month per smartphone, projected to rise to 65 GB by 2031.
He added that affordable 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) equipment and heavy data usage are driving this surge.
Globally, the report forecasts 6.4 billion 5G subscriptions by 2031, making up about two-thirds of all mobile subscriptions.
In 2025 alone, global 5G subscriptions are expected to reach 2.9 billion, rising by 600 million in a single year.
Network coverage is also expanding quickly, with 400 million more people gaining 5G access in 2025.
By the end of that year, half of the global population outside mainland China is expected to be covered.
Mobile network data traffic rose 20 per cent between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, driven mainly by India and China.
By 2025, 5G networks will handle 43 per cent of all mobile data, a number expected to jump to 83 per cent by 2031.
Fixed Wireless Access continues to grow as a major 5G use case. The EMR estimates that 1.4 billion people will be connected through FWA by 2031, with 90 per cent of these users on 5G networks.
Currently, 159 service providers already offer 5G-based FWA services, representing about 65 per cent of all FWA operators worldwide, the report said.
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