Global wireless 5G connections have reached 438 million by the third quarter of 2021 and are on pace to exceed 540 million by the end of the year, according to data from Omdia, said 5G Americas, the wireless industry trade association and voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas.

Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas said,

“Despite challenging times with the COVID-19 pandemic issues, 5G uptake continues at a fast pace as communications and connectivity have taken center stage.”

According to the most recent data from Omdia, the world added 72 million 5G connections between Q2 and Q3 of 2021, increasing 19.6% from 366 million to 438 million, reflecting a downward re-statement of connections from Q2. At this pace of growth, 5G is expected to more than double the number of connections in 2020 and is forecast to reach 540 million globally by the end of the calendar year.

Looking forward, Omdia estimates global 5G connections reaching 4.8 billion by the end of 2026. Of that, 516 million is expected to come from North America and 301 million from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Omdia principal analyst Kristin Paulin said, “While Oceania Eastern & South-Eastern Asia, which includes China, will account for more than half of all 5G subscriptions at the end of 2026, the Americas region will manage to carve out a 17% portion after growing 1,000% from 2021 to 2026.”

North America 5G connections

By region, North America had a total of 56.5 million 5G connections by the end of Q3 2021, which is an addition of 12.5 million 5G connections – a gain of 28 percent quarter over quarter. Additionally, it had 505 million LTE connections by the end of Q3 2021.

4G LTE still remains the dominant wireless cellular technology in Latin America and the Caribbean with 484.6 million connections. That represents 21 percent annual growth with the addition of 82.8 million new LTE subscriptions year over year.

According to Jose Otero, Vice President of Caribbean and Latin America for 5G Americas, “With 16 commercial deployments in the Caribbean and Latin America region, 5G continues to make progress. In the upcoming years, as more spectrum, enhanced coverage and devices become available, 5G connections will increase substantially in the region.”

5G commercial networks

Overall, the number of 5G commercial networks has reached 185, according to data from TeleGeography and 5G Americas. That number is expected to reach 220 by the end of 2021 and 329 by the end of 2023, representing strong 5G network investment growth in many regions throughout the world.

The number of 5G and 4G LTE network deployments are summarized below: