India's 5G subscriptions are projected to cross 1.1 billion by the end of 2031, achieving an impressive 81 per cent subscription penetration, according to a report by Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson. At the end of 2025, 5G subscriptions reached 430 million and accounted for 35 per cent of total mobile subscriptions, as reported by Ericsson Mobility. The rapid growth is attributed to affordable smartphones supporting the next-generation network, wider coverage across almost all districts, and the continued expansion of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services. The country is witnessing rapid 5G adoption, driven by these factors and growing uptake of FWA services.
India continues to lead globally in mobile data consumption per smartphone, with the average monthly usage already at 37 GB expected to nearly double to 70 GB by 2031, according to the Ericsson Mobility report. While 4G remains the dominant technology at 46 per cent, subscriptions are forecast to decline from around 570 million in 2025 to nearly 160 million by 2031 as users migrate to 5G. 5G networks handled 48 per cent of all mobile data traffic at the end of 2025, a level expected to surge to 85 per cent by the end of 2031. This massive increase in consumption highlights the growing dependence on mobile connectivity and digital services among Indians.
Globally, 5G mobile subscriptions passed the three billion mark during the first quarter of 2026, with 162 million new 5G subscriptions added bringing the total to 3.1 billion subscriptions. This figure is expected to more than double to 6.4 billion by the end of 2031. Some 390 service providers have launched commercial 5G services to date, with more than 90 having launched 5G Standalone networks, as reported by Ericsson. Erik Ekudden, Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson and publisher of the report, noted that future connectivity demands will be shaped by artificial intelligence's rise in mobile networks.
The report highlighted a significant development where a service provider in India recently launched differentiated connectivity services based on network slicing for its postpaid 5G customers, signaling the evolution of advanced 5G use cases. Without naming Airtel, the report drew attention to this development. Uplink traffic is growing faster than downlink for many service providers, with some instances showing significantly faster growth. The share of FWA service providers offering the service over 5G has reached 71 per cent, up from 57 per cent in June 2025, representing the largest annual increase in four years. Speed-based tariff plans for fixed wireless access continue to appeal to service providers as a structured monetisation strategy, with 57 per cent of FWA service providers now offering such plans.
According to Ericsson, Western Europe, North America, North East Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are forecast to have 5G mobile subscription adoption close to, or above, 90 per cent by the end of 2031. Nitin Bansal, Managing Director, Ericsson India, noted that India's rapidly growing 5G ecosystem is transforming the country's digital landscape. He emphasized how this rapid adoption of enhanced mobile broadband and FWA services are reshaping consumer experiences in India. Bansal also stressed that a robust and secure infrastructure for fifth-generation (5G) technology is enabling inclusion, governance, innovation at scale while strengthening the Digital India program. The report indicates that India is set to remain the world's largest consumer of mobile data per smartphone, with the average monthly usage expected to reach 70GB by 2031.
