Global 5G connections reach 63.6 million, continued ‘strong uptake’ expected

5G Americas released a global 5G progress report that indicates strong deployment progress, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic volatility. 5G Americas has revealed that, according to data from Omdia, there are now over 63.6 million global 5G connections as of Q1 2020, which represents 308.66% growth over Q4 2019. “Globally, 5G remains the fast-growing generation of wireless cellular technology ever, even as the world is gripped with a pandemic,” confirmed Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas. “In North America, we are seeing consistent, strong uptake of new 5G subscribers as new devices have been released that can take advantage of low-band and millimeter wave frequencies. At the same time, new network capabilities are being added.” There are now 82 5G commercial networks around the world. Further, data from TeleGeography predicts that that number will reach 206 by the end of 2020. Networks aren’t the only part of the 5G future on the rise. 5G devices are also becoming more widely available. In fact, according to the Ericsson Mobility June 2020 Report, there are now over 100 commercial 5G device models available globally, with increasing support for low-band, mid-band and millimeter frequency bands.