4G will become a minority in relation to the 5G. It is the result of the Ericsson Mobility Report posted a few days ago. However, expect to pay more and more.
5G takes precedence over 4G
It’s official: 5G is on the way take an important step. According to Ericsson, one billion users worldwide will soon be using 5G. A figure still far behind 4G, which reached around 5 billion subscribers in 2022, but the gap is closing and the number of 4G users is decreasing, while 3G has almost disappeared. Indeed, Ericsson expects 4G growth to peak in late 2022 and 5G will replace the current connectivity standard.
The Ericsson Mobility Report states that in 2028, ” the coverage rate of the world’s population in 5G could reach 85% “. The average monthly data consumption per smartphone could reach on this date 52 GB in Europe. In Franceit is currently only 13.4 GB per month for a 4G subscriber according to Arcep (the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution).
The Swedish giant’s report states that ” we will probably have to pay more for it “. In Europe, it is increasingly common to see the prices of packages vary according to the different levels of speed. This is probably not an isolated practice. 25% of operators offering 5G in the world “ charge an additional cost of approximately 40% “. In the United States, it is more complicated because the main mobile telephone operators include 5G connectivity in all their unlimited data plans.
So they claim not to charge 5G at a higher price than 4G. But that’s not entirely true. Verizon offers an unlimited plan “ premium to access the lower frequency bands of 5G, while cheaper unlimited plans only allow access to the ” Nationwide 5G », a slower frequency. In North America, approximately 35% of mobile subscribers will be on 5G by the end of 2022. For its part, T-Mobile includes the 5G low frequency bands in all its unlimited plans.
Ericsson believes that operators will exploit this feature to encourage customers to upgrade and therefore pay more. The company’s report states that ” this pricing strategy is gaining traction, and now 24% of those with 5G are using it to segment the market and motivate consumers to upgrade “. To summarize : 5G is progressingbut you have to expect to pay more and more to be able to access it.
