Latin America. 5G closed 2022 with a global number of wireless connections that would exceed 1.1 billion. According to 5G Americas, on average, connections to 5G networks doubled every year since the commercial introduction of these networks at the end of 2018, having totaled 922 million connections by the end of the third quarter of 2022, according to data from Omdia.
Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas, said, "5G continues to advance significantly around the world. The foundation of this new era of innovation is given by spectrum, standards and a growing ecosystem of key technologies that are being adopted by operators, suppliers and users alike."
Among the 75 countries reporting 5G connections, the most recent data from Omdia indicates that 433 million 5G connections were added globally between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022, which almost doubles the connections from 489 million to 922 million. In total, this represents a sequential quarterly growth of 14.4 percent, from 806 million in Q2 2022 to 921 million in Q3 2022. Global 5G connections are projected to accelerate again in 2023 to approach 2 billion and reach 5.9 billion by the end of 2027.
North America is a leader in the adoption of 5G wireless connections, with a total of 108 million 5G connections and 506 million LTE connections at the end of Q3 2022. 5G penetration in the North American market population is approaching 30 percent, as the region added 14 million 5G connections in the quarter, an increase of 15.47 percent over Q2 2022. Overall, a total of 137 million 5G connections are projected to come from North America by the end of 2022, driven by strong shipments of 5G smartphones in the United States. IDC predicts that the U.S. 5G smartphone market will reach 118.1 million shipped units by 2022, showing a 27% increase over 2021.
Kristin Paulin, Principal Analyst at Omdia, said: "5G still has a lot of growth to bring. Expanding mid-band coverage will improve the 5G experience, balancing coverage with speed. And the autonomous 5G deployments that are underway will enable new applications that will take 5G to a higher level."
Meanwhile, 4G LTE is expected to remain strong in Latin America and the Caribbean until the end of 2022. In Q3 2022, there were 530 million 4G LTE connections, representing quarterly growth of 2.14 percent with the addition of 11 million new LTE subscriptions. Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to have 22 million 5G connections by the end of 2022, and 399 million by 2027.
According to José Otero, Vice President of Latin America and the Caribbean of 5G Americas: "With more than 500 million connections, 4G LTE is the foundation of mobile wireless connectivity throughout the Latin American region. However, as we look to the future, 5G will begin to play an increasingly relevant role for the region's citizens as deployments and connections increase significantly."
In total, the number of commercial 5G networks reached 250, according to data from TeleGeography and 5G Americas. That number is expected to reach 253 by the end of 2022 and 397 by the end of 2025, representing strong growth in investment in 5G networks in many regions of the world. The number of 5G and 4G LTE network deployments as of December 14, 2022 is summarized below:
5G:
Global: 250
North America: 14
Caribbean and Latin America: 28
4G LTE:
Global: 702
North America: 17
Caribbean and Latin America: 131
