According to the November 2025 Ericsson Mobility Report (EMR), India is expected to exceed 1 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2031, reaching a 79% subscription penetration. 5G adoption in India is accelerating, with subscriptions projected to reach 394 million by the end of 2025, accounting for 32% of total mobile subscriptions.
Nitin Bansal, MD of Ericsson India, stated, “Mobile data traffic per active smartphone in India is already the highest in the world at 36 GB per month and is expected to rise to 65 GB per month by 2031. 5G is becoming critical infrastructure driving India’s digitalization.”
Key Highlights:
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Global 5G Growth: 5G subscriptions worldwide are projected to reach 2.9 billion by end-2025, a YoY increase of 600 million.
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Enhanced Mobile Broadband: Forecasted to exceed 6.4 billion subscriptions by 2031, with 65% being 5G Standalone (SA).
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Mobile Data Traffic: Expected to grow at an average annual rate of 16% through 2031. By 2025, 5G networks will handle 43% of global mobile data, rising to 83% by 2031.
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Fixed Wireless Access (FWA): About 1.4 billion people globally are expected to access FWA broadband by 2031, with 90% using 5G. Currently, 159 providers offer 5G FWA, and 54% provide speed-based tariffs.
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5G SA & Network Slicing: Over 90 CSPs have launched 5G SA networks, with 118 network slicing cases identified; 65 have moved into commercial services.
Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden noted, “Service providers are leveraging 5G SA to deliver differentiated connectivity, moving from proof-of-concept to commercial deployment, a trend that is accelerating globally.”
Looking Ahead to 6G:
The EMR also forecasts the first commercial 6G launches in front-runner markets such as the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China, India, and select GCC countries. Global 6G subscriptions are expected to reach 180 million by 2031, with potential early adoption in AI-enabled IoT devices. Europe is anticipated to see commercial 6G deployments slightly later than other regions.
The report also features co-written use-case articles:
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Singtel: 5G SA delivering tailored experiences
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SoftBank: Modernizing enterprise IT with 5G
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SailGP: Enhancing operations and viewer experiences with 5G
Ericsson Mobility Report Online Seminars:
Ericsson will host webinars today, November 20, 2025, at 09:00 CET and 18:00 CET. Registration is available via the official EMR link.
Since its launch in 2011, the Ericsson Mobility Report has been a key industry reference for network data, performance, and forecasts worldwide.
