The Adoption Of Speedy 5G Services Is Growing

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published 12 July 2023

Consumers rely on their phones for fast internet access, and they're increasingly turning to 5G to stream on their favorite apps without interruption. To help you understand what is going on and what we expect to happen in the future, our highly-experienced Kiplinger Letter team will keep you abreast of the latest developments and forecasts (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Letter or subscribe). You'll get all the latest news first by subscribing, but we will publish many (but not all) of the forecasts a few days afterward online. Here’s the latest...

Adoption of 5G service is going strong, despite declining smartphone sales this year. 5G brings faster speeds, improved coverage and other advances. India is the fastest-growing 5G market, according to telecom provider Ericsson, with hefty infrastructure investment. Meanwhile, North America leads in adoption: 41% of mobile subscriptions are 5G. That stands to surge to more than 90% in 2028. Global 5G subscriptions will hit 4.6 billion by 2028, making up half of the market.

What are people doing with faster mobile networks? Watching online videos — with YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, the biggest sources of data usage, per Ericsson.

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One fast-growing 5G market: Fixed internet service to a business or home. The U.S. leads the way, but it’s getting bigger globally. Customers plug in an antenna that receives 5G signals and the device provides fast internet at the premises. There are 100 million of these connections today. They will grow to 300 million by 2028.

This forecast first appeared in The Kiplinger Letter, which has been running since 1923 and is a collection of concise weekly forecasts on business and economic trends, as well as what to expect from Washington, to help you understand what’s coming up to make the most of your investments and your money. Subscribe to The Kiplinger Letter.

John Miley is a Senior Associate Editor at The Kiplinger Letter. He mainly covers technology, telecom and education, but will jump on other important business topics as needed. In his role, he provides timely forecasts about emerging technologies, business trends and government regulations. He also edits stories for the weekly publication and has written and edited e-mail newsletters.

He joined Kiplinger in August 2010 as a reporter for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, where he wrote stories, fact-checked articles and researched investing data. After two years at the magazine, he moved to the Letter, where he has been for the last decade. He holds a BA from Bates College and a master’s degree in magazine journalism from Northwestern University, where he specialized in business reporting. An avid runner and a former decathlete, he has written about fitness and competed in triathlons.