More than 2 billion people will have 5G coverage by the end of the year

[Serena Smith]

Ericsson reveals that during the third quarter, mobile data traffic increased 42% to 78 EB. This is more than all the traffic generated until 2016.

During the last decade, the evolution of technology has been spectacular. One of the most prominent phenomena is the expansion of mobile data traffic .

Since 2011 , this traffic has practically multiplied by 300 . During the third quarter of the year, it increased by 42% to 78 EB , which is more than all the mobile traffic generated until the end of 2016.

This is highlighted by Ericsson in a special edition that marks ten years of publication of its Mobility Report .

According to this report, 5G will end up being the most rapidly deployed generation of mobile technology. Some 660 million subscriptions are expected by the end of the year, thanks to the boost in demand in China and North America, which is being higher than expected after the cheaper devices.

During the summer, 98 million 5G subscriptions were added compared to 48 million in 4G. If the estimates are met, by the end of the year more than 2 billion people will enjoy 5G coverage .

Later, in 2027, 5G is expected to account for half of global mobile subscriptions and cover 75% of the population, being responsible for 62% of smartphone traffic .

It should be noted that the technological life cycle of 5G devices is faster than that of 4G gadgets . At the moment they account for 23% of world volume, when 4G terminals only represented 8% of the total at the same point in their life cycle.