Asia Pacific to account for 60% of global 5G connections by 2026

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According to new market research, there will be 3.2 billion 5G connections within five years.

The number of 5G connections will grow more than 10-fold by 2026 from 310 million this year, but revenue per connection will fall, Juniper Research said in a new report.

The report added that by 2026, more than 60% of the world's 5G connections will be in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Operators in China, Japan and South Korea have all implemented lower subscription costs, which has accelerated 5G adoption, thereby enabling these users to explore new services that require 5G connectivity,” said Dave Bowie, co-author of How to Monetise Future 5G Services.

Average monthly revenue per smartphone connection is currently $29, but the global average will fall to $17, according to calculations by Juniper Research.

However, this means that monthly 5G revenues will soar from $9 billion today to more than $54 billion in five years.

Juniper expects that to maximize monetization from the significant growth in network connections, operators will accelerate investments in standalone 5G networks to optimally position their services to manage future capacity.

“Standalone 5G networks leverage next-generation technologies such as network orchestration tools, enabling operators to monetize data-intensive use cases such as telemedicine and mobile gaming,” Juniper Research said.

The report added that in Asia Pacific, "network coordination technologies, as well as millimetre wave frequencies to support data-intensive 5G services, will be key drivers in creating an ecosystem in the region, enabling mobile users to take advantage of 5G networks for emerging mobile services while maintaining network performance".