Juniper Research says in a new report that 5G connections will grow from 310 million this year to more than 10 times that figure in 2026, but the revenue per connection will go down.
More than 60% of global 5G connections will be in the Asia Pacific region by 2026, the report adds.
Dave Bowie, co-author of How to Monetise Future 5G Services, said: “Operators in China, Japan and South Korea have all implemented lower subscription costs, which have accelerated 5G adoption, thus enabling these subscribers to explore novel services that require 5G connectivity.”
Average monthly revenue is US$29 per smartphone connection now, calculates Juniper Research, but will fall to a global average of $17 per connection.
However, that means monthly 5G revenue will soar from $9 billion now to more than $54 billion in five years.
Juniper predicts that, in order to maximise the monetisation of this significant growth in connections, operators will accelerate investment into standalone 5G networks to best position their services to manage future capacity.
“Standalone 5G networks leverage next-generation technologies, such as network orchestration tools, to enable operators to monetise data intensive use cases, like remote healthcare and mobile gaming,” says Juniper Research.
In the Asia Pacific, the report adds, “network orchestration technologies, alongside millimetre-wave frequencies that enable data-intensive 5G services, will be a key driver in creating an ecosystem in this region that allows mobile subscribers to leverage 5G networks for emerging mobile services, whilst maintaining network performance”.
