Latin America. Subscriber adoption of the fifth generation of wireless technology ("5G") increased significantly, with a global wireless connection count for the second quarter of 2021 reaching 429 million, according to data from Omdia, stated 5G Americas, the wireless industry association and voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas.
Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas, said: "5G is advancing at a very rapid pace. However, the speed of adoption by subscribers is only beginning to accelerate. 5G will be foundational for a new era of technological innovation around the world."
According to Omdia, the world added 124 million 5G connections between Q1 and Q2 2021, increasing 41% from 305 million to 429 million. 5G is still on track to triple the number of connections by 2020 and is projected to reach 692 million worldwide by the end of the calendar year.
In addition, ten commercial 5G networks were switched on in the world during Q2 2021, bringing the global total to 182 networks, according to TeleGeography data. That number is projected to reach 220 by the end of 2021 and 323 by the end of 2023.
Future projections for Omdia's 5G and 4G LTE remain healthy, with global 5G connections estimated to reach 4.7 billion by 2026. Of that total, 512 million would come from North America and 277 million from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Omdia Chief Analyst Kristin Paulin said: "There are several factors that are driving 5G adoption in North America, including 5G coverage, non-differentiation of 5G service plans, promotions of 5G devices, and the start of 5G-rich content as part of a package."
By region, Omdia data indicates that North America had a total of 44.6 million 5G connections at the end of Q2 2021, which means 17.9 million more 5G connections and a growth of 67 percent over the previous quarter. In addition, it had 501 million LTE connections at the end of Q2 2021, indicating a 0.66 percent quarterly decline in this technology.
In its first year of commercial availability, in Latin America and the Caribbean, 5G connections reached 15,706, which includes 11,655 new connections during the past year. LTE continues to be the dominant wireless cellular technology in the region, with 454.8 million connections, or 71 million new LTE subscriptions over last year, representing 18.4 percent annual growth.
According to José Otero, Vice President for the Caribbean and Latin America of 5G Americas: "The geographical expansion that is taking place in optimized mobile broadband networks along with the greater availability of terminals that support this technology are driving the adoption of 4G in markets such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. At the other end of the spectrum, 2G and 3G continue to lose subscribers to operators starting to plan for their disconnection and prepare for the massive and imminent demand for 5G services, which is expected to begin in 2024."
In summary, these are the deployments of 5G and 4G LTE networks as of September 2021, according to TeleGeography and 5G Americas:
5G:
Global: 182
North America: 10
Caribbean and Latin America: 15
4G LTE:
Global: 695
North America: 19
Caribbean and Latin America: 127
5G and 4G LTE connections to T2 2021, according to data from Omdia:
5G:
Global: 429 M
North America: 44.6M
Caribbean and Latin America: 15.7 M
4G LTE:
Global: 6,400 M
North America: 501 M
Caribbean and Latin America: 454.8 M
