India to have over 1 bn 5G connections by 2031: Ericsson Mobility report

India will cross 1 billion 5G subscriptions by 2031 as affordable devices, expanding networks and soaring data usage fuel rapid adoption, says the latest Ericsson Mobility Report

India is set to pass 1 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2031, driven by affordable 5G-enabled devices and expanding network coverage, even as the country already accounts for the world’s highest mobile data consumption per smartphone, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report issued on Thursday.

 

By the end of 2025, India’s 5G subscriptions are estimated at 394 million, representing 32 per cent of total mobile connections in the country, the report adds.

 

India’s mobile data traffic per active smartphone currently stands at 36 GB per month—the highest globally—and is expected to climb to 65 GB per month by 2031.

   

Nitin Bansal, managing director of Ericsson India, noted that 5G has become the backbone of digital transformation in the country.

 

“The availability of affordable 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) customer premises equipment and high data consumption by FWA users are accelerating data traffic growth,” he said. FWA, which delivers broadband connectivity wirelessly to homes and enterprises, is emerging as a key 5G use case in India.

 

Globally, 5G subscriptions are projected to reach 6.4 billion by 2031, accounting for two-thirds of all mobile subscriptions. Of these, 4.1 billion are expected to be on 5G Standalone (SA) networks, which operate independently of legacy 4G infrastructure and enable advanced features such as network slicing. Meanwhile, global 6G subscriptions are forecast to reach 180 million by 2031.

 

The Ericsson report also highlights that 5G networks will handle 43 per cent of global mobile data traffic by the end of 2025, up from 34 per cent a year earlier. This share is forecast to rise to 83 per cent by 2031. Fixed Wireless Access broadband is expected to reach 1.4 billion users globally by 2031, with 90 per cent of these connections leveraging 5G technology.

 

Mobile network data traffic grew 20 per cent year-on-year between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025, with India and mainland China driving much of this expansion.