5G connections set to top a billion by 2023

We can expect a lot more 5G ushering in the next decade. According to IDC’s first-ever forecast on worldwide subscriptions, the road to a billion 5G connections is paved for 2023. It’s a huge jump compared to what’s available today; for 2019, IDC predicts 5G subscription levels will top 10 million.

So, what does this even mean? — 5G has been all the rave among cellphone carriers – thanks to the promise of faster speeds and greater innovation opportunities, not to mention the global expansion of commercial 5G networks in places like the UK, Europe and Asia.

By 2023, IDC predicts 5G will account for 8.9 percent of all mobile device connections. But experts are cautiously optimistic.

“While there is a lot to be excited about with 5G, and there are impressive early success stories to fuel that enthusiasm, the road to realizing the full potential of 5G beyond enhanced mobile broadband is a longer-term endeavour, with a great deal of work yet to be done on standards, regulations, and spectrum allocations,” said Jason Leigh, research manager for Mobility at IDC.

As with any type of technological innovation, the future is always uncertain. While we can expect that the smartphone market will surely grow from this, when it comes to everything else we’ll have to wait and see.