File photo used for representation only.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are expected to see increased adoption of 5G enabled devices as smartphone replacement cycle is shorter in the region. 5G is set to change the technology and communications landscape of GCC as it will become the fastest adopted mobile generation in history.
Zoran Lazarević, Chief Technology Officer, Ericsson Middle East & Africa shed light on the findings of the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report for Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman during a virtual event held recently. The report provides industry-leading projections and analyses of the latest trends in the mobile industry, including subscription, mobile data traffic and population coverage.
“4G is losing momentum in the GCC region and one of the main reasons is that the cycle of replacing smartphone is much shorter in the region than in other parts of the world. There will not be any new phones without 5G enabled technology which we will see speeding up this year and next year and propel its growth further,” he added.
As one of the key economies in the GCC, Qatar is spearheading the use and growth of technologies such as 5G in the region. Driven by Qatar National Vision 2030 and its digital initiatives that focus on four main pillars including human, social, environmental, and economic development, Qatar is utilising technologies such as 5G to transform the economic and social landscape of the nation. 5G will bring new capabilities allowing operators to develop innovative applications, services, and revenue streams for the enterprise market. New 5G applications and services are expected to have a profound impact on a range of industry verticals, the report said.
Lazarevic noted, more than 300, 5G smartphone models have already been announced or launched commercially. The cost of devices is going down due to China’s earlier engagement with 5G compared to 4G as China is very strong market for 5G and is leading in North East Asia. This is the reason we have many different 5G phones in the market at very attractive prices. “So, we expect the prices will go down much faster than 4G which will stimulate faster deployment,” he added.
Lazarević said, mobile network data traffic is growing exponentially as the growth year on year from Q1 2014 to Q1 2021 was 46 percent. Over the long term, traffic growth is driven by both the rising number of smartphone subscriptions and an increasing average data volume per subscription, fueled primarily by more viewing of video content.
In 2026, 5G networks will carry more than half of the world’s mobile data traffic. Citing the Ericsson Mobility Report he said, we expect there will be 5 times growth of the monthly mobile data traffic and the fixed wireless access (FWA) traffic growth will be 7 times, accounting for 20 percent of total mobile network traffic by 2026.
The expert highlighted that the GCC countries had the highest average monthly data traffic per smartphone in the world that is 18.4GB. It is expected to be 42GB per month by 2026 as we are going to have bigger consumption in the GCC. North America and Western Europe are 11GB and 11.1GB respectively. The global average is 9GB data traffic per month, reiterating that the GCC is more than double. He said, “We also forecast the highest growth will be in Middle East and North Africa (Mena)which is expected to grow 7 times to 32GB per month in 2026 and is to have the second highest growth rate.”
About 3.5 billion 5G subscriptions and 60 percent 5G population coverage are forecast by the end of 2026 globally. 5G mobile subscriptions will exceed 580 million globally by the end of 2021, driven by an estimated one million new 5G mobile subscriptions every day.
He said, 4G is the dominant technology, accounting for about 80 percent of the subscriptions at the end of 2020. However, there is a very strong growth for 5G, and we expect by 2026, 73 percent of total mobile subscription will be 5G in the GCC. This will make the GCC a region with the second highest 5G penetration at that time.
The report features for the first time the breakout statistics for the Gulf countries where local digital initiatives are accelerating both technological innovation and expected 5G uptake. In 2019, the GCC markets were among the first in the world to launch commercial 5G services.
