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Two reports have been unveiled which together, forecast the post-pandemic world and the future of 5G in Sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide.
The recently released Ericsson Mobility report (EMR) highlights unique trends in each individual market, including Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the report, Ericsson projects that 5G mobile subscriptions will exceed 580 million by the end of 2021, driven by an estimated one million new 5G mobile subscriptions every day.
The forecast, confirms the expectation that 5G will become the fastest adopted mobile generation. 5G is expected to surpass 1 billion subscriptions two years ahead of the 4G LTE timeline for the same milestone.
The report features breakout statistics from Sub-Saharan African markets where around 15% of mobile subscriptions were for 4G at the end of 2020.
Mobile broadband subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are predicted to increase, reaching 76% of mobile subscriptions by 2026.
However, the report notes that 5G volumes in Sub-Saharan Africa are not expected to grow in the region for 2021 but are likely to reach around 70 million 5G subscriptions in 2026.
Ericsson also launched the ConsumerLab report, to assess the penetration of 5G and the tremendous potential it holds to markets around the world.
The latest ConsumerLab report revealed key insights about what Sub-Saharan African consumers believe will happen beyond the pandemic, into the year 2025, through surveying a sample of 1,000 to 2,000 respondents between the ages of 15–79.
The report found that, when entering the “next normal”, consumers in Africa will have added an average of 3.4 online services to their daily online activities, while also increasing the time they spend online by 10 hours per week by 2025, in comparison to their pre-pandemic habits.
This move is also expected to bridge the gap between moderate and advanced online users, with the more moderate online users having introduced more online services in their daily life over the course of the pandemic.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of online education at schools and universities as well as remote working has increased to 87% and 6% respectively.
Going forward online education and remote working are collectively expected to remain at a level of 51%, stated the report.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of online shopping stood at 28% out of the total number of all shopping events, both online and at physical stores.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, this figure increased to 47%. Consumers anticipate their habits around online shopping will remain at a level of 37% after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed.
Commenting, Todd Ashton, Vice President and Head of Ericsson South and East Africa said: “Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to see continued growth in mobile broadband thanks to the young population, increased coverage, and more affordable smartphones.”
“By 2025, we will be looking at a new normal with online activities becoming more common daily. 4G will become more pervasive and 5G will start to grow in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, we will definitely see increased economic growth and an acceleration in Africa’s digital inclusion,” he concluded.
Ericsson has found that despite the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, service providers continue to switch on 5G, and more than 160 service providers have launched commercial 5G services.
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