The addition of 162 million 5G subscriptions in the first quarter of 2026 has pushed total global subscriptions to 3.1 billion as of March.

This is according to the newly released Ericsson Mobility Report.

Checks by The Guardian, however, showed that Nigeria’s 5G penetration, which the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, puts at 14 per cent penetration and five per cent usage, is just one per cent of the global subscriptions of 3.1 billion.

The country has an estimated 30.8 million connections, which is 0.99 per cent (approximately one per cent) of the 3.1 billion subscriptions.

The 5G technology was officially launched in Nigeria in September 2022, making it about four years old as of mid 2026.

Further to Ericsson’s report, which covers 2025-2031, the 3.1 billion subscriptions are expected to grow rapidly and more than double to 6.4 billion by the end of 2031.

Some 390 service providers have launched commercial 5G services to date – more than 90 of which have launched 5G Standalone (SA). 5G networks handled 48 per cent of all mobile data traffic at the end of 2025 – a figure expected to rise to 85 per cent by the end of 2031. 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.

The report noted that the number of commercial differentiated connectivity service offerings based on 5G SA network slicing from service providers, with the ability to deliver guaranteed quality of service for use cases through securing slices of the network, continues to grow at a pace. The total increased from 65 in the November 2025 EMR report to 84 across all regions in the new June edition – indicating that services based on differentiated connectivity are moving from early adoption to mainstream commercialisation.

EMR Publisher and CTO, Ericsson, Erik Ekudden, said: “With the upcoming transition to physical AI, traffic patterns will fundamentally shift as we move from centralised models in data centres to distributed, autonomous AI agents embedded across our device vehicles and cities, commonly connected by 5G.

“Mobile networks are no longer only about providing best-effort connectivity; they are becoming critical, intelligent infrastructure that meets diverse application needs. Reflecting part of this shift is the continued rise in new commercial service offerings based on 5G standalone network slicing and the number of communications service providers deploying 5G SA.”

Ericcson said speed-based tariff plans for fixed wireless access (FWA) also continue to appeal to service providers as a structured monetisation strategy targeting different market segments.

The share of FWA service providers offering the service over 5G has reached 71 per cent – up from 57 per cent in June 2025 – the largest yearly increase in four years. Speed-based tariff plans are now offered by 57 per cent of FWA service providers – up from 51 per cent a year ago. The diverse momentum is reflected in new 5G FWA launches in Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Morocco, Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam.

5G FWA connections uptake is strongest in North America, the Nordics, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and parts of Asia.

The appeal is broad, spanning markets with more than 95 per cent fibre
-connected homes to low-ARPU markets, such as India. However, growth in Latin America, Africa and parts of South East Asia remains limited, despite long-term potential.

Changing user behaviour is also reflected in the June 2026 EMR network traffic statistics.
The report noted that uplink traffic is growing faster than downlink for most service providers – in some instances, significantly faster. The main current drivers are smartphone communication and collaboration apps, the sharing of user-generated content, and cloud storage.

Based on network traffic measurements conducted by Ericsson, 43 out of 55 service providers experienced a higher uplink growth rate than downlink, while 17 out of 55 service providers experienced more than 1.5 times higher uplink growth rate than downlink. Ericsson scenario modelling suggests additional AI traffic could result in uplink traffic being three times higher or more in 2031 compared to 2025.

Network data traffic (for both mobile and FWA) grew 22 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 – exceeding expectations. This was driven mainly by continued strong growth in India and North America.

The report also reflected the increasing industry focus on 6G, with standardisation discussions underway. Early expectations include full support for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC); seamless integration between terrestrial and satellite networks to reduce coverage gaps; and a strong focus on energy efficiency – all driven by AI-native 6G.

The first implementable 6G specifications are expected to be finalised by the end of 2028 or early 2029. The first commercial 6G services are expected to follow around 2030, with varying subsequent uptake between regions and countries. As with 5G launches, the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and the GCC countries are expected to be early adopters.