The Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for a majority of the world’s 5G connections by 2025, according to a new report from industry group GSMA.
The group issued its latest Mobile Economy report at the outset of its Mobile World Congress event in Shanghai.
The analysis expects Asia to see some 675 million 5G connections within six years of the next-generation networks’ expected debut in the region next year, which would account for about 14 percent of all mobile connections in the region.
Early 5G networks in Asia would largely focus on supplementing existing networks, primarily in urban areas, before the uses of the technology expand upon the release of new global standards.
Mobile operators, meanwhile, are projected to spend about $200 billion on upgrading and expanding 4G and 5G networks in the region in coming years.
“The Asia Pacific region has experienced rapid migration to mobile broadband networks and smartphones over recent years and is now set to play a pioneering role as we move into the 5G era,” GSMA Director General Mats Granryd said in a statement.
In addition, the report expects 62 percent of Asian mobile connections to run on 4G networks by 2025 as large, emerging economies — such as India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam — accelerate their 4G deployments.
GSMA analysts expect India alone to account for about half the new mobile subscribers in Asia between 2017 and 2025, when overall unique subscriptions are expected to climb from 2.7 billion to 3.2 billion.
The wireless industry’s economic impact in the region is also expect to climb from $1.5 trillion last year to $1.8 trillion by 2022.
