Ericsson reports 5G subscriptions at one-third of mobile users in November 2025 mobility report

The November 2025 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report reveals that 5G subscriptions have reached one-third of all mobile subscriptions globally. Between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025, mobile network data traffic expanded by approximately 20 percent.

The report indicates that the growth of 5G infrastructure is prompting service providers to explore new applications and monetization methods, including differentiated connectivity services and updates to enterprise IT using 5G technologies.

Network slicing technology, which necessitates a Standalone (SA) 5G Core Network (5GC), has moved beyond initial experimental phases. Currently, 33 communications service providers offer versions of network slicing, with 65 out of 118 observed cases transitioning into commercial services, either through SA subscriptions or as supplementary offerings for consumer and business clients. This adoption aligns with increased deployment of 5G SA core networks.

Standardization efforts for 6G Radio Access Network (RAN) have commenced within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and ITU-R WP5D, with early commercial launches anticipated in certain markets. However, the development of the 6G core network has yet to start in either 3GPP or ITU-T. The report identifies countries including the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, India, and some Gulf Cooperation Council members as participants in 6G development activities, with a projection of 180 million global 6G subscriptions by the end of 2031, a forecast that has been questioned based on the expected timing of standard recommendations and deployments.

Market share data from Omdia for 2024 highlight that Ericsson, Huawei, and Nokia increased their combined share in the network equipment market to 77.4 percent, up by 2.3 percentage points from the previous year. Aside from China's ZTE, Samsung Electronics was the only other competitor with a market share exceeding one percent.

“We think that forecast is highly unlikely as the IMT 2030 (6G) RIT/SRITs recommendation won’t be completed till the end of 2030 with initial deployments sometime in 2031,” said a source in the report regarding the 6G subscription projections.