Ericsson Mobility Report 2025: 5G Mid-Band Reaches 50% of European Population

The latest Ericsson Mobility Report for June 2025 highlights significant growth and transformative trends in the global mobile telecommunications landscape. The number of 5G subscriptions worldwide is expected to reach 2.9 billion by the end of the year, accounting for approximately one-third of all mobile subscriptions. The forecast for the end of 2030 stands at 6.3 billion 5G subscriptions.

Mobile data traffic increased 19% between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025. Despite a slowdown in growth rate, net traffic volume continues to expand year-over-year, with a forecast to more than double by the end of 2030. At the end of 2024, 5G networks handled 35% of global mobile traffic, a share that is projected to exceed 80% by 2030.

In Europe, mid-band 5G coverage surpassed 50% of the population by the end of 2024. While this is in line with the global average, the continent still lags behind leading regions such as North America, where coverage surpassed 90%, and India, which reached 95% population coverage last year.

Erik Ekudden, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson, highlights a watershed moment : “ We are at an inflection point, where 5G and the 5G ecosystem are poised to bring a wave of innovation. Recent advances in standalone (SA) 5G networks, combined with the development of 5G devices, have created an ecosystem that can create transformative opportunities for connected creativity .”

Ekudden added that operators are starting to monetize the potential of 5G through innovative service offerings that go beyond simply selling data-only pricing plans . To fully realize the potential of 5G, it is essential to continue to deploy 5G SA and further enhance mid-band infrastructure, as 5G SA capabilities are the catalyst for new business growth opportunities .

The report also highlights how emerging technologies based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) are introducing new traffic profiles that make the quality of connectivity increasingly crucial to guarantee high-level user experiences . Traffic generated by generative AI (GenAI) applications is currently limited, but has a significant peculiarity: 26% is uplink traffic, leaving the device towards the network, mainly related to text and voice interactions . This figure is significantly higher than the typical distribution of mobile traffic, which is divided into 90% downlink and 10% uplink. With the introduction of more powerful smartphones, new XR (Extended Reality) devices and more advanced multimedia content, mobile AI traffic is expected to increase significantly, especially on the video and uplink front .

The report also highlights Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) connections. More than 35% of new fixed broadband connections are expected to be FWA, with an expected growth of up to 350 million connections by the end of 2030. Two factors make this technology particularly attractive: the possibility of offering speed-based pricing plans, further enhanced by 5G features, and the crucial role that 5G FWA plays in extending broadband access, especially in areas where traditional wired infrastructure is more difficult to deploy .

More than half (51%) of global operators now offer speed-based pricing options, up from 40% in the same period in 2024, driven by high adoption in the US and growth in Europe and the Middle East. With 5G FWA, operators can offer a diverse range of offerings to users, with differentiated download and upload bandwidth options – similar to offerings available for cable or fiber connections – thus expanding monetization opportunities compared to previous generations of FWA.

The report also highlights how operators are pursuing new business opportunities by offering differentiated connectivity services to consumers, businesses and government agencies. Use cases include video production and broadcast, POS, events and arenas, gaming, Fixed Wireless Access, virtual private networks and business productivity.