According to estimates from Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report, the number of 5G smartphone subscriptions worldwide will rise to 600 million by the end of this year, almost tripling from the 2020 total.

Samsung and several other smartphone makers released their first 5G handsets in 2019, Apple jumped on the 5G bandwagon in the fall of 2020, bringing the new standard to the entire iPhone 12 product line. Having sold more smartphones in the last three months of 2020 than any company ever before in a single quarter, Apple’s 5G debut definitely provided a major boost to the new technology.

By October last year, 38 countries had 5G networks as of and many more had 5G mobile technology deployed in part. During the period, a survey by Statista.com established that North America, Europe and East Asia are on the forefront of 5G implementation.  South Korea is the country which deployed the first 5G network and the country is expected to stay in the lead as far as penetration of the technology goes, By 2025, almost 60% of mobile subscriptions in South Korea are expected to be for 5G networks.